"Enemy within" Trump explores the limits of military deployment at home

The ex-president wants to deploy more soldiers at home. This would mean a drastic reorganization of troops.

In his first term as President of the United States, Donald Trump tested the limits of using the military for political purposes.

In the event of another election victory in November, the Republican and his allies are already preparing to go even further and reposition the military as an instrument for use on American soil: for border protection, deportations and the suppression of unrest.

Trump's vision amounts to a potentially dramatic shift in the role of the military in US society that could have serious implications for both the country's standing in the world and the limitations that have traditionally applied to the use of the military domestically.

"Vicious and bloodthirsty criminals"

The ex-president announced plans to withdraw thousands of American troops from abroad and station them on the border with Mexico. He could also deploy soldiers for his domestic policy priorities, as he says, for example for deportations and combating protests. He also spoke of getting rid of officers who did not want to follow him ideologically.

In the final stages of the election campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump is promising a crackdown on immigrants who do not have permanent residency rights. In a speech in Colorado last Friday, the Republican described the city of Aurora as a war zone controlled by Venezuelan gangs.

Local authorities vehemently disagreed, saying it was only about a single block of a Denver suburb. The area was safe again. "I will save Aurora and every other city that has been invaded and conquered," Trump said during his appearance. "We will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or run them out of our country."

"The bigger problem is the enemy within"

In an interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" program, Trump was asked about the possibility of "outside agitators" disrupting Election Day.

"I think the bigger problem is the enemy within," Trump said. "We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left-wing crazies. And I think they're the big - and it should be very easy to handle, if necessary, by the National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can't let that happen."

His team will not give details of Trump's plans for the military. This also applies to the question of how many soldiers he would deploy from abroad to the border. However, his allies are not afraid to portray the plan as a comprehensive mission in which the most powerful instruments of government would be used in new ways.

Three ministries in focus

"There could be an alliance between the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense," said Ron Vitiello, who was acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump. "These three departments need to be coordinated in a way that perhaps has never been done before."

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In the past, both Democratic and Republican presidents deployed military resources at the border, but the plans would represent a significant escalation of the military's involvement in domestic policy. Human rights and civil liberties organizations are alarmed.

"They are promising to use the military to conduct mass raids on American families on a scale reminiscent of some of the worst things our country has ever done," said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us, an immigration advocacy organization.

Contradictory statements

In Congress, which has the ability to limit the use of military force through funding and other avenues, Republicans are largely in agreement with Trump's plans. "The reason I support Donald Trump is because he will secure the border on day one. Now that could be misconstrued as being dictatorial. No, he needs to secure the border," said Representative Joe Wilson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Nevertheless, Trump's plans to deploy troops from abroad could fuel tensions within the party between foreign policy hawks and Republicans who support Trump's "America First" isolationism. Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Trump would not deploy active-duty soldiers to the border, even though Trump's campaign platform clearly says he would.

Measures like the one Trump is considering would likely require the president to invoke war or emergency powers. This would apply to mass deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law, or to quelling riots under the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows the president to use the military domestically and against US citizens.

Insurrection Act was last used in 1992

It was last used by President George Bush in 1992 during the riots in Los Angeles after police officers beat down Rodney King, a black man.

Before a possible second Trump term, Democrats in Congress tried to update presidential powers such as the Insurrection Act, but had little success. Instead, they urgently warned that Trump would now face fewer restrictions on the use of the military.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who introduced a bill to update the Insurrection Act, said the plans make it clear that Trump sees the military not as a force for national defense, but for his personal preferences.

Republicans, on the other hand, have few objections to using the military to fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking. "Whatever fixes the border, I think we're okay with it," said Congressman Dan Crenshaw.

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