National Guard Can't Use Surveillance at US-Mexico Border

The hundreds of National Guardsmen sent to the southern border to bolster security are not allowed to look into Mexico using any kind of surveillance equipment, The New York Times reports. That would be considered "intelligence collection," a no-no that's part of the legal ground rules governing what troops can and cannot do in support of The Border Patrol, the Times reports. Guardsmen can look into Mexico as far their own eyes can see, but using surveillance equipment to spot illegal immigrants trying to penetrate the border is part of the other restrictions put on troops, including law-enforcement duties, making arrests or interacting with migrants, the Times reports. "They have their hands tied," Texas Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez told the Times. "This is not what the National Guard was designed for." President Donald Trump's ordered deployment of the troops to the border falls under the governance of Title 32 of the U.S. code for homeland defense...MORE 

The CRS report on the legal authority of the military to participate in border security activities can be seen here.