A recent directive from the Department of Defense has opened the door for its civilian workforce to engage in operations managed by the Department of Homeland Security. According to the memo, this collaboration will particularly focus on activities at the southern border and internal immigration enforcement efforts.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued the memo, clarifying that while the Posse Comitatus Act restricts military involvement in law enforcement, this new directive pertains to non-military personnel of the Department of Defense. This distinction is highlighted by Syracuse University professor William Banks, who states, “This is a step that avoids that problem, that is the legal problem, and potentially adds many thousands, tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of employees on a temporary basis.”
The civilian personnel from the Department of Defense will be integrated into immigration tasks through 287-G agreements, a framework that already permits local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE at various sites, including county jails. This initiative is part of the broader strategy by the Trump administration to achieve a target of 1 million deportations annually.
Banks further explains that despite the administration’s aspirations, there has been a shortfall in the resources and personnel needed to meet these deportation goals. “As we all know in the first four months, the promise has been out there, but the personnel to carry it out, or the wherewithal, hasn’t matched the rhetoric at all,” he commented.
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