‘Frightening escalation:’ Experts ‘unnerved’ by leaked memo on military use in US

A leaked Department of Homeland Security memo reveals advanced plans to expand military involvement within the U.S., which has stunned a number of policy experts, The New Republic reported on Saturday.

“The memo is alarming, because it speaks to the intent to use the military within the United States at a level not seen since Japanese internment,” said Carrie Lee, a senior fellow at the policy think tank German Marshall Fund, speaking with TNR. “The military is the most powerful, coercive tool our country has. We don’t want the military doing law enforcement. It absolutely undermines the rule of law.”

Obtained by TNR, the leaked memo details a high-level meeting between leadership at DHS and the Department of Defense focused on expanding coordination between the two agencies on immigration enforcement. It was attended by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and Defense Secretary Secretary Pete Hegseth, along with other top leaders at the two agencies.

According to TNR the memo "has unnerved experts who believe it portends a frightening escalation."

Agency leaders cited recent military immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles, California and the California-Mexico border that involved the deployment of thousands of troops as models for future cooperation, suggesting an increase in future military deployments to urban centers may be on the horizon.

“It’s disturbing to see DHS officials pressuring the U.S. military to turn its focus inward even further,” said Joseph Nunn, counsel in the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program, speaking with TNR.

Specifically, agency leaders named the recent operation in Los Angeles as “a good indicator of the type of operations (and resistance) we’re going to be working through for years to come.” That operation saw around 5,000 members of the National Guard deployed to downtown Los Angeles to quell protests sparked by immigration raids, and to protect immigration enforcement officers.

Agency leaders also assessed the threat of illegal immigration to be “on the same plain” as groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS according to the memo, naming immigration crackdown efforts as “a priority” for President Donald Trump.

“The conflation of a low-level threat like transnational criminal organizations with Al Qaeda, which was actually attempting to topple the United States government, is a clear attempt to use excessive force for a purpose normally handled by civil authorities,” said Lindsay Cohn, associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College, speaking with TNR.