DHS asks for 20,000 National Guard troops for immigration roundups, Pentagon reviewing request

By TARA COPP and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON AP The Department of Homeland Measure has requested for National Guard troops to assist with immigration roundups across the country and the Pentagon is reviewing the peculiar request a U S official ratified to The Associated Press DHS sought for the troops to help carry out President Donald Trump s mandate from the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin disclosed She mentioned DHS will use every tool and fund available to do so because the safety of American citizens comes first Unlike the troops deployed at the southern limit these National Guard units would come from the states and be used to assist in deportation operations in the interior of the country Related Articles Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to resume quick deportations of Venezuelans under th century law Trump suspends asylum system leaving immigrants to face an uncertain future Israel intensifies attacks in Gaza and strikes ports in Yemen as Trump wraps up trip to region Watching Trump from afar Israel fears being left out of a new Middle East it helped create Conservatives block Trump s big tax breaks bill in a stunning setback How the troops would be used may depend on whether they remain under state governors control Under the Posse Comitatus Act troops under federal orders cannot be used for domestic law enforcement but units under state control can The addition of National Guard troops would provide a huge boost to immigration enforcement Immigration and Customs Enforcement the DHS agency responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the country has a total staff of about people spread across three divisions Enforcement and Removals Operations which is the division directly responsible for arresting and removing people who do not have the right to stay in the country has a total staff of roughly people including a little over law enforcement officers It was unclear why the request was made to the Defense Department and not to the states The U S official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made inhabitants Trump has been carrying out a wide-ranging crackdown on illegal immigration issuing a series of executive orders designed to stop what he has called the invasion of the United States The U S already has as several as troops under state and federal orders along the U S -Mexico perimeter including a few who are now empowered to detain transients they encounter along a newly militarized narrow strip of land adjacent to the edge Homeland Prevention Secretary Kristi Noem testifies during a House Committee on Homeland Assurance hearing Wednesday May in Washington AP Photo Kevin Wolf So far these troops have largely been limited to providing airlift bolstering the wall surveillance and administrative backing to free up dividing line agents for arrests or detentions Along the newly militarized zone troops have put up warning signs and accompanied territory line agents but left the detention of refugees traveling the frontier to other agencies In New Mexico where the new militarized zone was first created federal magistrate judges have started dismissing national measure charges against transients accused of bridging the southern U S demarcation through the newly designated military zone finding little evidence that they were aware of the zone The request for troops was first disclosed by The New York Times