(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A leaked memo from the Department of Homeland Security shows the department anticipates the use of U.S. military personnel in its ongoing mass deportation campaign.
The memo, written by DHS senior adviser Phil Hegseth, was obtained by The New Republic, which published it on Saturday. Hegseth is the younger brother of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who would oversee the domestic deployment of U.S. soldiers.
In June, President Donald Trump nationalized nearly 5,000 National Guard members and deployed them in Los Angeles. The president also sent 700 Marines to the city, stating that the deployment was necessary to quell “violent insurrectionist mobs.”
Those Marines and most of the guardsmen have since been withdrawn.
But the DHS memo, which emerged from a June 21 meeting of Homeland Security and Defense officials, including the Hegseths, suggests that soldiers will be deployed on U.S. soil “for years to come.” The memo discusses how the departments can “better plan for national security and illegal immigration,” and it contains three action items, one of which involves
The U.S. military leadership (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and NORTHCOM) need to feel — for the first time — the urgency of the homeland defense mission. They need to understand the threat, what’s at stake, and the political importance the administration has placed on this issue.A verbal agreement to find places where DoD can detail personnel within ICE and CBP (and vice-versa) to increase information sharing, and specifically support nationwide operational planning capabilities.A clear understanding of each department’s capabilities, limitations and shared objectives
Under a section titled “Talking Points,” the memo says there is room for improvement when it comes to the deployment of troops domestically, which it says could happen “for years to come.”
“Everyone here is also aware of our joint work in L.A.,” it states. “It hasn’t been perfect, and we’re still working through best practices together, but I think it’s a good indicator of the type of operations (and resistance) we’re going to be working through for years to come.”