Forget the National Guard – Send the Coast Guard to Portland and Chicago

By: John Giduck J.D./Ph.D.

Pres Trump’s efforts to arrest and prosecute or deport illegal criminal aliens and other vicious criminalshas hit several roadblocks. Federal judges have issued injunctions against him calling up and deploying the National Guard (NG) to cities, especially those facing rampant crime, to include out-of-control gunfire and murder. Though he seems to win on appeal, that takes time. Meanwhile, people get murdered, shot, carjacked, raped, robbed and live in fear.

The NG operates under two primary authorities: Title 32 of the US Code which places them under state control for state-level missions while receiving federal funding, and Title 10, which signifies federal control and command for national missions, similar toactiveduty forces. Title 10 is the law that has seen the NG deploy as activeduty troops to Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global War on Terror. But in deploying the NG to US cities, Pres Trump has been relying on Title 10, which has been met with objection by many sources.

However, there is one “military” branch that is already statutorily authorized to be usedfor law enforcement anywhere in the country. That is the United States Coast Guard (CG). The CG can be deployed in a law enforcement role in the interior of the country because it is a federal law enforcement agency with explicit statutory authority and is exempt from the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (PCA), unlike other military branches. Operating under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since the 9/11 terror attacks, the CG's responsibilities include both maritime and certain land-based law enforcement functions, enabling it to make arrests and conduct investigations on land within US territory to fulfill its missions.

During peacetime, the CG operates under DHS, a civilian agency, rather than the Department of War. Its mission extends beyond just maritime activities; it also has responsibilities for national security and border protection that can extend inland. This allows it to carry out federal law enforcement duties without being subject to the same restrictions as the Department of War's military branches.CG personnel can make arrests and conduct other law enforcement actions on land to support their overall missions.They are not only authorized to board vessels, but are empowered to conduct searches and seizures, and make arrests where US jurisdiction applies, including inland waters and lands under US control.Also, unlike the NG, it is constituted of full-time, active-duty operators, engaged in tactical missions on a regular basis. Make no mistake, these are no “weekend warriors” but serious operators, quite a number of whom have the Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon (CGCAR).

Specifically, CG can do thisunder 14 USC §§ 101-1171, specifically §§ 501-510 and §§ 527-528. The statutes give them authority in immigration, counter terrorism, counter espionage, drug interdiction, etc, primarily “on, through, under, and around” US territorial waters and the coast. However, 14 USC § 553 references 46 USC § 70101 which gives CG law enforcement authority in other places under limited conditions.The CG can collaborate with agencies from DHS to address issues pertaining to immigration. This collaboration is legal and is carried out under various statutes and executive orders that govern federal law enforcement and immigration enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security Act of 2002 established and outlined the roles of its various agencies in enforcing immigration law and ensuring border security. The CG, as a part of DHS, has the authority to work with other agencies within the department, such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) andImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).CG has specific authority to enforce US immigrations laws at sea and land and have the legal authority to detain individuals where appropriate.

Through Memoranda of Understanding, the CG often participates in joint operations or task forces that involve multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to enhance inter-agency coordination on issues, including illegal immigration. The CG can enter into agreements with other DHS agencies to define the roles and responsibilities of each agency during operations targeting illegal immigration.

And it's not as though the president would have to bring them all up from Texas or some other remote place, as with the NG soldiers going from Texas to Chicago. The Coast Guard can and does operate in Portland, Oregon, through its Sector Columbia River command. That unit of the Coast Guard's Oregon jurisdiction extends far beyond the coast to include areas around major navigable rivers like the Willamette River, which runs through Portland, and the Columbia River.

Questions surrounding such a move include there being too few bodies in the CG to have an actual effect, and, outside of the Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Teams (MSRTs) and Patrol teams, most members are not trained in the LE role. MSRTs are elite; deployable units focused on maritime counter-terrorism and high-risk law enforcement missions. However, the NG never assumes a LE role and is not a LE agency for any purpose, ever. Therefore, the CG is far better suited to serve alongside LE in this capacity. As important, is the fact that the numbers of NG deployed to any one city have not been that great. That is part of the reason why actual arrests are quite low. What is needed from the military is more of a security function, the success of which has been proven just from their presence in Washington, DC.

Another criticism is that with the CG deployed to the interior, there won’t be anyone to continue to meet their regular duties. To this, I would offer that this very LE function is part of CG’s regular duties. It says so in the statutes and in the missions they exist to execute. It’s important to keep in mind that in times of crisis, all resources get stretched thin. The solution is never to say that“there’s no solution”. In fact, the NG soldiers that have been blocked by federal judges could be sent to the CG bases and satisfy what security and other functions they regularly perform. That could include the 19th and 20th Army National Guard Special Forces Groups that few people realize exist. As Green Berets, they are highly-trained, most are combat veterans, and they also possess maritime operations capability. Doing so would be a bit like playing government and military whack-a-mole, moving these different groups around like chess pieces, but that is the position these judges have put the Trump administration and the nation in.

While I’m sure there are other complex federal laws that could be trotted out to try to resist this effort, the fact remains that the forces arrayed against the use of the NG would not likely anticipate it and the brave men and women of the Coast Guard could be saviors of cities like Portland. They would help keep their fellow Homeland Security agents from ICE safe in the execution of their duties - all for the protection of America and her citizens.