OPINION: The U.S. military is not a law-enforcement agency

El Paso Times
By Ouisa D. Davis / Guest Columnist
Posted: 07/31/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT

Three years ago, state National Guard units were deployed to the southern U.S. border to support Border Patrol activities. After public outcry, the project was downplayed.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security is encouraging the use of the military to engage in federal law-enforcement activities.

The mission of the Army National Guard is to "maintain properly trained and equipped units, available for prompt mobilization for war, national emergency, or as otherwise needed."Ê

Now, before you run under your American flag and speak of the "noble contributions" of individual Guard members or sing the praises of the Guard in disaster relief, be very clear -- individual contributions or disaster-relief activities are not the issue.

The National Guard serves in two capacities -- on the state level and, if needed, under the direction of the federal government. When acting in its state mission, the National Guard can be mobilized by each state's governor to provide relief after natural disasters or other emergency situations.

But, the National Guard's primary role is to support the U.S. Army in military actions. Its secondary role, and one that gives us warm fuzzy feelings about this particular deployment plan, is civil relief. The federal government is deploying military units to the southern border to support federal law-enforcement activities.

And that is militarization of the border. The Second Amendment lovers should be up in arms.

The Army National Guard claims its origination in December 1636 when the Massachusetts Bay colony formed three citizen militia regiments to defend against the Pequot tribe. Its charter is found in the U.S. Constitution, specifically Article 1, Section 8, calling forth a militia "to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions."

Beginning in 1792, laws passed defining the separate roles of the regular Army, the Reserves and the National Guard. The National Defense Amendments of 1920 refined the role of the National Guard, organizing it into the support force we know today. By 1973, the Guard was mobilized as a constituent component of the U.S. Army.

The National Guard can be deployed by state governors to engage in state law-enforcement activities. However, border protection, immigration enforcement and drug interdiction are governed by federal, not state. law. I have found no legal authority permitting the federal government to deploy National Guard troops to support federal border-enforcement activities.

Why is the federal government utilizing the Guard in border law- enforcement activities?

Think critically for a moment -- we are not at war with Mexico, there is no civil unrest in our sleepy town, no foreign army has invaded the U.S. through our southern border, and there is no national disaster plaguing our community.

Federal agencies are unable to fill vacancies; that is the crux of the problem -- a recruitment issue, not a national security problem requiring the deployment of military troops in any capacity.

The military is not a police force. This is a quick-fix to a real problem -- the need for comprehensive immigration reform that not only includes border security measures but also realistic opportunities for people to immigrate to the U.S. safely and legally.

Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. E-mail: Ouisadavis@yahoo.com

http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_12949166