Why a military zone along the border?

AWS

AWS

Custom Accessory Maker & Retired PM Staff
I live along the border and I defended the military zone along the border. I didn't know the reason other than to stop drugs and illegals immigration. It is that but the military zone imore than that.

Due to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 the US Military can not be used to enforce domestic policies. The military could not only assist logistically the local sheriff, police and Border Patrol. They cannot arrest or detain people for entering the country or smuggling drugs. By making the strip along the border a closed military zone or military base, now the military can patrol the border independently and arrest people for trespassing on a military base and the turn them over to the proper authorities.
 
It sounds good, and maybe it will be. But, the skeptic in me says: So now the military will arrest everyone and turn them over to the same agencies that took no action before the military was there? Seems like adding another bureaucracy to an already ineffective process. Could have spent the same money to give the Border Patrol more folks and gear and then actually do something with those apprehended.
 
Most people don't realize the loopholes the federal government uses to arrest/detain people. Take federal inmates for example, if you took away the interstate commerce clause, our federal prisons would be almost empty.
 
Of cource, the agencies that didn't do anything were under orders by the last admin to not do anyuthing.

They're now under orders to enforce the law. I think we'll see a very different outcome for anyone they ctahc now
 
Stu Farish said:
Of cource, the agencies that didn't do anything were under orders by the last admin to not do anyuthing.

They're now under orders to enforce the law. I think we'll see a very different outcome for anyone they ctahc now
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Hopefully. But why not just unshackle the Border Patrol? At least they only harass US citizens, not cuff and stuff them. IMO, while potentially effective now, this militarization is bad in the long run.
 
Funny how so many people on here were just bashing the vary federal
DesertRam said:
Hopefully. But why not just unshackle the Border Patrol? At least they only harass US citizens, not cuff and stuff them. IMO, while potentially effective now, this militarization is bad in the long run.
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The BP is like every other federal LEO agency critically short staffed.
 
Yep, exactly why I initially stated that we should spend money on them instead of mobilizing the military. Metaphorically speaking, I just think we're trying to fill the gap with the wrong caulk.
 
There is a strip of Fed land all along the border. Past that is STATE land, where B.P. has NO authority (well, actually some authority as allowed by state). Military property is enforced by Mil and makes a larger buffer zone. I don't understand why anyone has a gripe about it!
 
popper43 said:
I don't understand why anyone has a gripe about it!
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Because it's not just a buffer zone. They have taken that land out of the public domain. Land that you could walk on, hunt on, etc. a few months ago you now cannot. You will be arrested. That's my gripe. I support effective border control and the elimination of illegal immigration, but it should not cost NM and US citizens their land, their recreational opportunities, their livelihood, etc. Build the wall, equip it with electronic surveillance, appropriately staff the Border Patrol, deport illegal immigrants immediately upon entry, find them wherever they are, and so on. These are methods I support. But to take my and your land is going too far. There are better tools, better techniques, better ways. This time it's 110,00 acres in NM. Next it'll be 200,000 acres, then it'll be more states. That's how these things often go. It starts out "small" but then expands. It's the nature of the FedGov beast. I can't tell you how many conversations on this very board have railed on and on about the inefficiencies, the bloat, the overreach of the FedGov. This is the start of one of those very issues and many are applauding. That's what I don't understand.
 
A few more thoughts.

Why hire more BP and equip them when you already have a fully equipped AND paid force trained to stop an invasion sitting around the country practicing. Practical experience seems more cost effective. They were able to be deployed immediately by manipulating land usage instead of training a force of men and procuring equipment. Great testing ground for desert warfare

Closed military lands don't always mean closed totally. Hunting is available on a lot of military bases. With permits we held bird dog trials on Ft Lewis and you could get permits to hunt there. White Sands has a hunting program. Once the border issue is more settled to the point.where vigilance can be relaxed or the BP can again handle the border things might change. This is already a temporary situation. Changes in the future are always possible.
 
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