“The exclusion of aliens is a fundamental act of sovereignty … inherent in the executive power,” the Supreme Court ruled in 1950; Knauff v. Shaughnessy.
In 1952, Congress passed a statute authorizing the president to “…by proclamation and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens and any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants … whenever he thinks it would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
Our Constitution vests the Executive with the authority to defend our nation against attack, invasion or infiltration by foreign nationals whose presence is deemed detrimental to the interests of the United States and seats him at the head of the armed forces of the US military for precisely this purpose. (Article II section 2 of the US Constitution names the president Commander in Chief.)
Many on the political Left are attempting to strip the president of his authority to deploy the military in defense of our border, claiming The Posse Comitatus Act forbids it. Their claim is that the laws governing our border are “domestic laws” and as such, cannot be upheld by deployment of military force.
This is an absurd, incoherent and self-destructive argument. It should no longer surprise us when Leftists (and “NeverTrumpers”) consistently insist that America is duty-bound to her own self-destruction.
Their argument supposes that our borders are only defensible if Congress makes no domestic laws governing them. Having passed laws establishing lawful process at the border, Congress has inadvertently made our borders indefensible. Those making this argument are obviously not bright enough to process the ramifications of their own position: Were it true, we’d be disabled against foreign invasion and would have been overrun long ago. Our obvious ability to defend against foreign invasion serves to deter it, making a physical military presence at the border unnecessary most of the time.
The intent and purpose of the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C. § 1385, original at 20 Stat. 152) is to prevent deployment of US military force AGAINST U.S. CIVILIAN POPULATIONS in place of police departments elected and comprised of local citizens. Self-governance relies on local law enforcement.
Former President Obama’s attempt to “nationalize” local departments under his politically-driven Federal Justice Dept (on the basis of unproven racist accusations) threatened to present an actual infraction of Posse Comitatus. We heard not a word from the Leftists who reveled in the idea of replacing local law enforcement with a centrally-controlled, national police force.
America is NOT duty-bound to self-destructive policies.
Arguments based on the supposition that our Constitution commands our representatives to act against our interests are often the product of Leftist crap. It’s being advanced by people deluded into doctrines informed more by John Lennon’s “Imagine” lyric than by history, our founding documents or any rational observation of humanity, society or government.
The Posse Comitatus Act forbids the use of the military against *citizens*
*Not* against foreign invaders who want to enter by force, if they can’t sneak in
The fact that it so easy to make an issue of the military’s use reveals the sad state of American education