Does President Trump Have Authority to Secure Our Southern Border? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Art. I, § 9, clause 1, delegates power over Migration (immigration) to Congress. So Congress is to make the immigration laws; and the President, as Chief Executive, is to put Congress' laws into effect.

    Art. IV, § 4 REQUIRES the United States to protect each of the States against Invasion.

    Art. I, § 8, clauses 15 and 16, authorize the calling up of the Militia for three (3) purposes: to execute the Laws of the Union; to suppress Insurrections; and repel Invasions.

    Art. II, § 3 authorizes the President to recommend to Congress such measures as he deems necessary and expedient; to convene Congress on extraordinary occasions; and requires him to take care that the laws be faithfully executed (that includes the immigration laws.)

    Art. II, § 2, provides that the President is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. He is Commander-in-Chief of the Militia when it is called into active service of the United States. As noted above, the Militia may be called into active service to "repel invasions".

    So those are the Constitutional Provisions which apply to the invasion of our Southern Border.

    America is finished if we don't control our Southern Border. Congress and the President have clear constitutional authority - actually, they have the DUTY - to control our Southern Border.

    The best way the control the Southern Border is to build a wall. [I know from personal observation during the Cold War that the wall the Soviets built between East and West Germany prevented people in the East from escaping to the West.]


    What if Congress refuses to fund the wall? Must the President tell the American People, "Well, I tried. But my hands are tied. You better get ready for civil war."

    No! Art. IV, § 4 imposes on the United States the Duty to protect each of the States against invasion. If Congress won't do it, the President must. He is Chief Executive of the United States. For him to refuse to act for the reason that Congress won't fund the wall would be as contemptible as the Husband and Father who refuses to get armed to protect his Family because the government says he can't be armed.

    So, the President may solicit donations from the American People for funds, labor, and construction materials, to build a wall.

    About "calling up the Militia" to "repel invasions" - Well, we no longer have the Militia provided for at Art. I, §8, clauses 15 and 16. During 1903, the American People and their federal and state legislators (who had all "mainlined" on Progressivism) went along with the federalizing of the Militia. This was done with the federal Dick Act of 1903 (Militia Act of 1903), which converted the Militia into the National Guard, which is an adjunct of the federal military.

    If we still had the "Militia of the several States," it would be obvious that the Militia must be - and could be - called into national service to repel the "invasion" coming through our Southern Border.

    But since we no longer have the Militia, we must rely on the closest thing to a Militia we have left, which is the National Guard. Congress has passed laws which authorize the President to call the National Guard into national service. The Militia Act of 1903 established the creation of the National Guard of the United States as the primary organized reserve force for the U.S. armed forces, thus federalizing state militias. The National Defense Act of 1916 gave the President authority, in case of war or national emergency, to mobilize the National Guard for the duration of the emergency. And the National Guard Mobilization Act of 1933 made the National Guard a component of the Army

    The point is that the President probably has authority to call up the National Guard to protect our Southern Border and the construction workers while the Wall is being built.

    But if push comes to shove, the President has the Clear Duty to protect our Southern Border and to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

    Remember - the Questions are always: "What does the Constitution authorize" & "What Duties does the Constitution impose on the federal government?"

    There is no substitute for reading the Constitution for yourself. Article by Article - and then seeing how the Articles all work together - hand in glove.


    References:

    Publius Huldah, "Yes! Trump Has the Authority to Secure Our Southern Border," Publius Huldah blog, January 15, 2019. Referenced at: https://publiushuldah.wordpress.com/2019/01/15/yes-trump-has-constitutional-authority-to-secure-our-southern-border/

    Cort Kirkwood, "Trump Can Close the Border, Former Federal Prosecutor Says," New American, October 25, 2018. Referenced at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/immigration/item/30446-trump-can-close-the-border-former-federal-prosecutor-says

    Hilary Hurd, Yishai Schwartz, "Supreme Court Travel Ban Ruling Summary," Lawfare, June 26, 2018. Referenced at: https://www.lawfareblog.com/supreme-court-travel-ban-ruling-summary

    11 Facts About Human Trafficking, Do Something. Referenced at: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-human-trafficking

    Raphael Carranza, "Harder Drugs, Higher Profits: US-Mexico Border Sees a Shift in the Kinds of Drugs Seized," azcentral, February 23, 2018. Referenced at: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2018/02/23/united-states-mexico-border-patrol-drugs-seized/353260002/

    "Synthetic Opioid Overdose Data," Center for Disease Control. Referenced at: https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/fentanyl.html

    Jessica M. Vaughan, "MS-13 Resurgence: Immigration Enforcement Needed to Take Back Our Streets," Center for Immigration Studies, February 21, 2018. Referenced at: https://cis.org/Report/MS13-Resurgence-Immigration-Enforcement-Needed-Take-Back-Our-Streets

    Emily Stewart, "How Trump Could Use a National Emergency to Get His Border Wall, Explained," VOX, January 11, 2019. Referenced at: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18172749/trump-national-emergency-government-shutdown-wall

    Elizabeth Goitein, "What the President Could Do If He Declares a State of Emergency," The Atlantic, January-February issue. Referenced at: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/presidential-emergency-powers/576418/ [Elizabeth Goitein is a co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice]