Posse Comitatus

Thanksgiving is past, and we turn our attention tot he world around us, specifically to the southern border, where our military is deployed as part of the federal response to the (illegal) migrant caravan.

Belle asked the other day, what the military was doing down there, and I told her that the soldiers are basically providing support tot he civil authority.  She asked, basically, if the military could "repel invaders" and I told her that it's more complicated than that, and that the military is bound by something called the Posse Comitatus Act, a federal law passed in just after Reconstruction that basically forbids the US Military from enforcing civil law within the boundaries of the US.

It's something that military officers learn about, and it's something I had to pay attention to during Desert Storm.  During that operation, I was federalized and found myself running the day-to-day law enforcement at Fort Polk, LA.  Coming from a civil law enforcement background, and being trained as a Military Police officer, I had to pay attention to the difference.  As an MP, I couldn't arrest civilians except under very limited and prescribed conditions.

Posse Comitatus protects the rights, privileges and immunities of US citizens from interference by the military.  This is generally a good thing, and the officers on the southern border are paying attention to it.