Trump’s Request To The Pentagon, Rejected
A group of migrants are heading over towards the border and President Trump does not want to them to reach the US. Earlier he requested troops to be sent as crowd control for these migrants in order to discourage their passage. He has continuously wanted to send the migrants back and to reinforce his stance on immigration in regards to the upcoming midterm elections. The Pentagon had concluded that this caravan was to be regulated by the state and local governments and that the federal government could not intervene. He stated that he would send the troops with live-fire weapons, he went on to compare shooting guns and throwing rocks as an equal offense. He stated that if the people started throwing rocks they would shoot warning shots. President Trump claims that this is an “invasion” of the US by having about 3000 Central Americans looking to improve their living conditions.
To connect to content in class this reinforces the two government system of state government and the federal government. This decision to not send troops just shows how limited the power of the federal government at the president can be. Since this caravan is no threat to the US it doesn’t require the military to get fully involved. The system of federalism also has put chains on the president so he and the government can’t just do anything that they please.
In my opinion, I now have hope on our federal government because they can counter the blasphemous decisions that our president proposes. Also, there is no need for violence in to stop unarmed people who are looking to flee from a hostile life or just looking for a better living. The comments made recently by Trump will directly influence the midterm election and he hopes to get more support on his current stances.
https://www.vox.com/2018/11/3/18059218/troops-border-law-enforcement-pentagon-dhs-trump
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/02/politics/white-house-pentagon-troops-border/index.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6348149/The-Pentagon-rejected-requests-troops-perform-crowd-control-Mexico-border.html
2 comments:
The troops will still be coming, but in a more limited role than Trump proposes. Their only role is to assist border patrol agents and also help transport them in military vehicles if needed.
I do not think this is an instance of states reining in federal power because it is the Pentagon that denied the Department of Homeland Security's absurd request to deploy troops inside American territory against unarmed migrants. If Trump's proposal had gone through as intended, the political fallout for Trump will be massive as horror scenes emerge of army men shooting down poor migrants. This is why I am thankful that the executive branch is not more powerful than it already is.
The migrant caravan is indeed an interesting issue that touches upon the controversy of immigration policy. On one hand, people argue that the US should accept people who seek help because morally that is the right thing to do. On the other hand, doing so undermines the purpose of having borders that control the number of people entering the US. Trump has clearly taken the latter stance.
While it's not wrong for Trump to believe that our borders should be more tightly controlled, the way he articulates and inflates this position -- threatening to use military force to "combat" innocent people who are pleading for help -- is a serious problem. It's one thing to say that the caravan shouldn't be let into the country, but it's another thing to say that these people are a threat that requires our armed military to deal with them.
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