“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

(Ben Franklin)

I’m amazed at the number of ‘locker room experts’ that have been spawned since Trump floated the idea of using federal troops to help enforce immigration laws.  According to these ‘experts’ the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the federal government from using the military to enforce domestic law.  Therefore, Trump cannot use federal troops to enforce immigration laws.  Alas, the knowledge of these leading lights is a mile wide and an inch deep…the Posse Comitatus Act does no such thing.

 What the Posse Comitatus Act does, is impose criminal sanctions on those who use federal troops unlawfully or unconstitutionally to enforce laws within the U.S.

 The Posse Comitatus Act is codified as 18 USC §1385 and states in full:

Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, or the Space Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.” (emphasis mine)

 In other words, the Act only restricts the use of the federal military for law enforcement duties to those instances authorized by statute or the Constitution. It certainly does not prohibit federal troops from being used in that role.  Ah, but has Congress ever authorized the use of federal troops to enforce domestic laws you ask?  Well, yes, yes, they have…continuously since 1792!