Washington, DC: According to individuals familiar with the situation, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration intends to seize control of the buffer zone along New Mexico‘s southern border and give US forces the authority to detain migrants who are breaking into the nation illegally.
These discussions, which have been centered on a portion of the New Mexico border, have been going on for weeks, according to the officials.
By doing this, buffer zones would become vast military satellite outposts. Trump’s assault on the border includes this action.
According to The Washington Post, this endeavor would allow for the largest deployment of active-duty troops to the border under Trump to date.
The militarization of the buffer zone, however, would undoubtedly prompt concerns about whether using the military in this manner violates the Posse Comitatus Act, a federal provision that forbids active-duty soldiers from participating in the majority of law enforcement operations.
If the idea is authorized, authorities told The Washington Post, the military-controlled buffer zone could be 60 feet deep and extend west to California.
Furthermore, the sources said that Pentagon leaders have requested military personnel to investigate the potential legal ramifications of temporarily detaining individuals who are crossing illegally when CBP authorities are not immediately available to apprehend them.
“It’s very, very careful on that wording,” a defense person with knowledge of the conversation said. “It’s not ‘custody’ since being placed in detention implies that you are being held until arrest. For civilian law enforcement, this is still the case.
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s defense secretary, has fervently backed earlier attempts to use the military at the southern border, a task he believes is crucial to US national security. Hegseth said, “We have defended other places and other spaces,” during his first border visit as Pentagon chief in February. “We will defend this line,” according to The Washington Post.
