In an episode of News 4 (WOAI) San Antonio’s Immigration Crisis: The Fight for the Southern Border, Lt. Colonel Geoffrey Corn, member of CERL’s Advisory Council, discusses how President Trump navigated legal hurdles and public opinion to deploy federal troops to the southern border. He explains Trump bypassed the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of the military for domestic law enforcement, by invoking the National Emergencies Act to expand military installations, thereby enabling active-duty troops to work alongside U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Having troops stationed at the border feeds the narrative that there is an “invasion” of migrants, he notes. 

Geoffrey S. Corn is the George R. Killam, Jr. Chair of Criminal Law and Director of the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech University School of Law. A retired U.S. Army Judge Advocate Officer, he served as the Army’s senior law of war advisor. He is also a member of the CERL Advisory Council. Read his bio here.   

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