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Trump orders National Guard to border, but Deal has not heard from White House

President Trump has signed an order that would send National Guard troops to safeguard the US-Mexico border, but Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has not heard from the White House as of this point.
Credit: MANDEL NGAN
Members of the US Border Patrol listen as US President Donald Trump speaks after inspecting border wall prototypes in San Diego, California on March 13, 2018. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump on Wednesday evening signed a measure directing the National Guard to be deployed to the border between the United States and Mexico, though the order did not specify in particular which states' guard units would be called up to serve.

Any movement of National Guard troops from any state would have to be directed by individual state governors.

When contacted late Wednesday by 11Alive News, the office of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said they had not been contacted by anyone from the White House in regard to any sort of deployment or movement of National Guard troops to support a proposed border patrol duty or support role.

The document signed by the president orders the Secretary of Defense to support the Department of Homeland Security to defend and secure the nation's southern border to stem the flow of drugs and people from Mexico into the United States. It orders the DOD to submit a report within 30 days to outline what steps can be taken.

RELATED | Trump signs order to send troops to US-Mexico border

Credit: MANDEL NGAN
Members of the US Border Patrol listen as US President Donald Trump speaks after inspecting border wall prototypes in San Diego, California on March 13, 2018. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

“A key and undeniable attribute of a sovereign nation is the ability to control who and what enters its territory,” the president’s memo said. “The situation at the border has now reached a point of crisis. The lawlessness that continues at our southern border is fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security, and sovereignty of the American people. My administration has no choice but to act."

In a tweet earlier in the week, Trump called domestic border laws "very weak while those of Mexico & Canada are very strong."

The president pointed to this as additional incentive and reason to build his border wall quickly. He insisted that until the wall could be constructed, a military presence was necessary to secure the border. Trump insists that presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both deployed National Guard troops in limited numbers and for short period of time.

"Until we can have a wall and proper security, we're going to be guarding our border with the military," Trump said.

Some critics of Trump's plan suggest that it violates the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits military forces from enforcing police actions on American soil.

Administration officials point out that National Guard troops were deployed in 2006 during an effort during the Bush Administration called Operation Jump Start, which provided support for border patrol agents during a point when a border fence was being constructed. The National Guard troops at that point were limited in their operation, in that they were not permitted to fire upon anyone unless they were fired upon. Their primary purpose was to support the border patrol with construction of the border fence.

National Guard troops were also deployed along the southern border in 2010 by President Barack Obama to provide airborne surveillance for border patrol agents in a similar operation.

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