1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i The Presidents Authority to Use the National Guard or the Armed Forces to Secure the Border April 19, 2018 President Trumps recent announcement and memorandum to the Attorney General and the Secretaries of Defe
2、nse and Homeland Security regarding the possibility of deploying the military to help guard the U.S.-Mexican border against aliens entering the country unlawfully as well as to stop the flow of drug and gang activity raise questions regarding his statutory or constitutional authority to do so. The a
3、nswer may depend on which troops are sent and the role they will play. This sidebar addresses the legal authorities for the President to use the National Guard or the armed forces to assist in securing the southwestern border. Memorandum and Recent Precedent Declaring the situation at the border to
4、have reached a point of crisis characterized by lawlessness, the President in the memorandum directs the Secretary of Defense to request the use of National Guard troops to assist in securing the southern border to “stop the flow of deadly drugs and other contraband, gang members and other criminals