Will the National Guard be a Strong Enough “Wall” to Secure our Borders?

Have you been eagerly waiting for a wall to secure our borders? Congress did not include funding for the wall in the omnibus spending bill. So, instead of sending construction workers and engineers to build the border wall, President Trump is sending soldiers from the National Guard to the border.

The president proclaimed that “until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military.” He hoped to send 2000-4000 soldiers. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis is on board, authorizing up to 4000 National Guard troops to be deployed to the Southern U.S. border.

That’s a higher number of soldiers than former President Barack Obama sent (1,200 soldiers), and a lower number than former President George W. Bush sent (6,000 soldiers).

President Trump is eager to secure our borders, but he’ll need the continued help of state governors. If the National Guard acts under the control of the president, by law it must have a more limited role in domestic affairs (See Title 10 of the U.S. Code and the Posse Comitatus Act). However, the National Guard is under less restrictions if it is under the command and control of state governors (see Title 32 of the U.S. Code). Here’s the kicker, though: governors can refuse the help of the National Guard on their borders.

Fortunately for the nation, the Republican governors of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas welcome the support of the National Guard in securing their borders. Arizona and Texas got the ball rolling immediately this past weekend, already deploying troops to their borders!

Unfortunately for the nation, the democrat governor of Oregon tweeted: “If @realDonaldTrump asks me to deploy Oregon Guard troops to the Mexico border, I’ll say no. As Commander of Oregon’s Guard, I’m deeply troubled by Trump’s plan to militarize our border.”

This goes to show how important it is to have Republicans in authority at the state and local level. Their decisions to cooperate or not cooperate with the president to secure our borders will affect the nation as a whole.

What are your thoughts? Is sending soldiers a good makeshift plan until the wall can be built? Are you holding out hope for a wall as the long-term solution, or do you think there’s a better long-term strategy for securing our borders? Feel free to reply to let us know what you think! We’d love to hear from you.