Border Troops Given WH "Green Light" To Use Force Against Arriving Caravan

The memo says "Department of Defense military personnel" can "perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary” to protect themselves and all U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel, including “a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention. and cursory search," according to the Military Times.

Approximately 5,800 active-duty troops and 2,100 National Guard troops are stationed at various regions of the southern border.

Legal experts see a potential issue with the overnight decision because it may conflict with a law that was passed in 1898 regarding how military can carry out its duties in domestic situations. The Posse Comitatus Act gives military troops the right to defend themselves. It was intended to ensure federal troops did not have the power to act as law enforcement in states.

The law would be violated if troops either "perform tasks assigned to an organ of civil government" or "perform tasks assigned to them solely for purposes of civilian government," according to the Congressional Research Service.