Reviewing Presidential Executive Orders Related to Border Control or Enforcement

President Trump has signed a flurry of Executive Orders in hours after he sworn in. Many relate to enforcement of the boarder, and border control.

Parsing through the Executive Orders signed by President Trump and posed to the White House website I have identified the following:

Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-emergency-at-the-southern-border-of-the-united-states/

Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially-Designated Global Terrorists
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/designating-cartels-and-other-organizations-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations-and-specially-designated-global-terrorists/

Securing Our Borders
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/securing-our-borders/

Protecting the American People Against Invasion
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-american-people-against-invasion/

Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-othernational-security-and-public-safety-threats/

Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/

Claryifying the Military's Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/clarifying-the-militarys-role-in-protecting-the-territorial-integrity-of-the-united-states/

Initial Analysis - Clarifying the Military's Role in Protecting The Terriotrial Integrity of the United States

The Executive Order titled -"Claryifying the Military's Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States" appears to make an argument that the the United States Armed Forces has a historic role in defending the border:

(b) The Armed Forces of the United States have played a long and well-established role in securing our borders against threats of invasion, against unlawful forays by foreign nationals into the United States, and against other transnational criminal activities that violate our laws and threaten the peace, harmony, and tranquility of the Nation. These threats have taken a variety of forms over our Nation’s history, but the Armed Forces have consistently played an integral role in protecting the sovereignty of the United States.

(c) Threats against our Nation’s sovereignty continue today, and it is essential that the Armed Forces staunchly continue to participate in the defense of our territorial integrity and sovereignty. A National Emergency currently exists along the southern border of the United States. Unchecked unlawful mass migration and the unimpeded flow of opiates across our borders continue to endanger the safety and security of the American people and encourage further lawlessness. Accordingly, through this order, I am acting in accordance with my solemn duty to protect and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States along our national borders.

From this Executive Order we can expect Trump to make a concerted effort to deploy military assets at the border. This may be challenged or debated under the context of the Posse Comitatus Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act

Briefly the Act reads :

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.

It is likely that some or multiple parties will challenge any effort by Trump to deploy millitary to the Southern US Border in the Federal Courts.

Initial Analysis - Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States

A National Emergency has a legal meaning, and the Executive Order invoke the National Emergencies Act. Forst some of the preamble and reasoning:

Because of the gravity and emergency of this present danger and imminent threat, it is necessary for the Armed Forces to take all appropriate action to assist the Department of Homeland Security in obtaining full operational control of the southern border.

To protect the security and safety of United States citizens, to protect each of the States against invasion, and to uphold my duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, it is my responsibility as President to ensure that the illegal entry of aliens into the United States via the southern border be immediately and entirely stopped.

As Commander in Chief, I have no more solemn duty than to protect the American people.

This Executive Order appears to partialy overlap with a previous aspect with respect to deploying the US Military to the Southern Border. A broad identification of an emerency is made, then the Exeuctive Action proceeds make a specific reference to the National Emergencies Act:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States, and that section 12302 of title 10, United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the Secretaries of the military departments concerned, subject to the direction of the Secretary of Defense. To provide additional authority to the Department of Defense to support the Federal Government’s response to the emergency at the southern border, I hereby declare that this emergency requires use of the Armed Forces and, in accordance with section 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1631), that the construction authority provided in section 2808 of title 10, United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the Secretary of Defense and, at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, to the Secretaries of the military departments.

The National Emergencies Act can be read at - https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title50/chapter34&edition=prelim

The Act requires President to declare an emergency, and reference the specific powers to be exercised in accordance with the Act. A Decleration of Emergency can be terminated by the President, or by a resolution of both House and the Senate. The Declaration could potentially challenged in Federal Court, if it is found that sections of the order potentially infringe the Constitution. A Federal Court could potentially issue an injucnction but that would quickly bring the matter before the United States Supreme Court. Expect to see heavy reporting on the Decleration of National Emergency as the press digests President Trump's Executive Orders.

§1621. Declaration of national emergency by President; publication in Federal Register; effect on other laws; superseding legislation
(a) With respect to Acts of Congress authorizing the exercise, during the period of a national emergency, of any special or extraordinary power, the President is authorized to declare such national emergency. Such proclamation shall immediately be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register.

(b) Any provisions of law conferring powers and authorities to be exercised during a national emergency shall be effective and remain in effect (1) only when the President (in accordance with subsection (a) of this section), specifically declares a national emergency, and (2) only in accordance with this chapter. No law enacted after September 14, 1976, shall supersede this subchapter unless it does so in specific terms, referring to this subchapter, and declaring that the new law supersedes the provisions of this subchapter.

More to follow, the Exeuctive Orders are likely to dominate the news-cycle over the next week, and I expect heavy debate, particularly over the potential suspension of "birthright citizenship."

Posted using Political Hive

Edit #1: As I was hitting post another relevant Executive Order was published by the White House.