Reuters/Mike Blake
- President Donald Trump’s top national security advisers reportedly discussed whether the military could be used to build and run "tent city" detention camps for migrants, NBC News reported.
- But the Posse Comitatus Act generally bars the government from using troops to enforce domestic laws.
- Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan was asked about the possibility on Friday, but said, "We haven’t received any details on that. But I expect an increase of support will occur."
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A group of President Donald Trump’s top national security advisers discussed whether the military could be used to build and run "tent city" detention camps for migrants, NBC News reported Friday, citing three US officials familiar with the conversations.
The discussions have even reportedly revolved around whether such a move would be legal, as the Posse Comitatus Act bars the government from using federal troops to enforce domestic laws.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan brushed off a question about the possibility on Friday when reporters asked whether the military will be involved in detaining migrants.
Read more: Pentagon to find places to potentially house up to 5,000 unaccompanied migrant children
"To your detainee question, we haven’t received any details on that. But I expect an increase of support will occur," he said.
Shanahan also said the Pentagon has not received any formal requests for assistance, but that "it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’ll provide more support to the border." He did not clarify what type of support was expected.
The discussions are the latest in a series of legally dubious efforts the Trump administration has reportedly floated in recent weeks, as the number of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border has soared.
Associated Press/Cedar Attanasio
In March, more than 103,000 migrants were apprehended at the border, the highest number in 12 years. The crossings have overwhelmed Border Patrol agents, enraged Trump, and triggered a purge of his top Homeland Security officials this week.
Trump reportedly pressured former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to start separating migrant families again, in violation of a federal court order. He also reportedly urged Border Patrol agents to block migrants from seeking asylum, which would violate US law.
CNN reported Friday that Trump had even pressured then-Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan to block migrants at the border, telling him he would pardon him if McAleenan were jailed. McAleenan is now the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS denied in a statement that Trump had urged the acting secretary to break the law.
"At no time has the president indicated, asked, directed or pressured the acting secretary to do anything illegal," the statement said. "Nor would the acting secretary take actions that are not in accordance with our responsibility to enforce the law."
- Read more:
- Trump reportedly told his border chief to close the border and block migrants from entering the US — and that if he went to jail, he’d pardon him
- Trump is booting out anyone who tells him his immigration ideas are illegal. Experts are worried about what will happen next.
- Trump mocks asylum-seekers at the border, says they ‘look like they should be fighting for the UFC’
- Before Nielsen’s abrupt resignation, hardline Trump adviser Stephen Miller was reportedly handed total control of border policy
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See Also:
- Trump reportedly told his border chief to close the border and block migrants from entering the US — and that if he went to jail, he’d pardon him
- US-Mexico border apprehensions have skyrocketed to a 12-year high as officials warn of a ‘breaking point’
- Trump mocks asylum-seekers at the border, says they ‘look like they should be fighting for the UFC’
Source: Business Insider – mmark@businessinsider.com (Michelle Mark)