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Earlier this month, US military and federal agents of customs enforcement and customs border security broke into a park near downtown Los Angeles. Ironically, the park is named after Gen. Douglas MacArthur. They were ready for combat wearing combat gear and camouflage, with some arriving on horseback, others riding armored vehicles and patroling with Black Hawk helicopters. The invasion forces were unable to capture anyone, but they managed to free the park from a group of children participating in summer camps.
The MacArthur Park operation sounds like a scene from “South Park,” but it really happened — and the meaning is horrifying. As Gregory Bovino, the agent in charge of the Border Patrol, told Fox News, “Get used to it now, because this will soon become normal. And President Trump dares to send the same message to all the Democratic governors and mayors of America who oppose him. He sends largely armed federal forces wherever he wants, for whatever reason, where he wants.
The US stands at an authoritarian breakthrough threshold, with Congress and the courts giving Trump a lot of tools. He learned from January 6, 2021 that “men with guns” need to be strictly controlled, as retired co-chief Chairman Mark Millie said. And that’s what we got when Congress faithfully confirmed Trump’s loyalty and leads the “power ministries,” namely the military, the FBI, the Justice Department, and other Intelligence Reporting agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security.
As commander, the president is able to deploy the army, and under Title 10 he can place the National Guard troops under his command, even against the wishes of local officials. Gov. Gavin Newsom last month challenged the legality of Trump’s exercise of this authority in Los Angeles. I’ll confirm what the court says, but it appears that based on the initial verdict, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is likely to be postponed to the President. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the military is currently unable to enforce the law, but it must be assumed that Trump can change it by calling the Rebellion Act, and that the current Supreme Court will also postpone it to him.
Trump was able to send his army to other cities, but the most dangerous weapon in his authoritarian arsenal could be the newly empowered Department of Homeland Security.
Without a doubt, this will overdrive Trump’s “massive deportation,” but this isn’t just about immigration. Remember Portland in 2020 when Trump sent Border Patrol agents to the city? Contrary to the wishes of the governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland, the president deployed agents to protect federal buildings and to curb anxiety following the murder of George Floyd. Under the Homeland Security Act, the Secretary may designate department employees to protect government property and to support federal protection services in carrying out such other activities to promote homeland security as stipulated by the Secretary.
Under that law, DHS officers may also be arrested both inside and outside federal property for “any crime against the United States.” This is why in 2020, Border Patrol agents dressed like soldiers and equipped with M-4 semi-automatic rifles were able to sprint through Portland in unmarked black SUVs and arrest people on the streets everywhere in the city. Trump could do this again anywhere in the country, and with billions of Congress giving immigration and border agencies, the DHS could frame and deploy formidable federal paramilitary forces whenever Trump wanted.
Of course, under the Fourth Amendment, officers must at least have reasonable doubts based on certain clear facts before halting and questioning anyone. And on Friday, US District Judge Mame Eusi Mensa Fripon issued a temporary restraining order blocking ice and customs and border security to make such a halt without reasonable doubt, further deeming it not based on obvious race or ethnicity. He speaks Spanish and speaks English with accents. It exists in specific locations, such as the parking lot at Home Depot. Or the type of work that a person does. This ruling could provide important constitutional restraints for these institutions, but we will see. The Trump administration appealed the ruling.
However, the lawsuit proceeds. The DHS agency is J. It is important to note that in response to Edgar Hoover’s revelation of power abuse, it is not like the FBI, with button-down, historically excavated book culture button-downs. DHS and its agencies don’t have that kind of baggage, and it clearly pushed a Los Angeles envelope last month. And even if Frimon’s ruling rises up on appeal, ice, customs and border security will undoubtedly be adapted by training officers to clarify other justifications to stop people on the streets and in the workplace. Ultimately, these agencies are used to operate near the border. There, in the words of the late Chief Justice William Lanequist, the federal government’s power is “the zenith,” with far fewer constitutional constraints on their actions.
These are the tools Trump has at his disposal, and these tools become even more frightening as DHS hires thousands of agents and rushes to build the detention facilities Congress has just paid for. And Trump should expect to deploy DHS paramilitaries to “protect” the 2026 or 2028 elections along with the federal forces, just like catching MacArthur Park.
A fantastical and dystopian scenario? Maybe, but who or what will stop happening? It appears Congress has no intention of facing the president. And while individual federal judges may be, it appears that the Supreme Court will likely postpone him, particularly on issues relating to national security or immigration. So, in Bruce Springsteen’s words, “After government checks and balances fail, the final checks on power are people, you and me.”
Seth Stodder served in the Obama administration as a Homeland Security Advisor for Borders, Immigration and Trade, and previously served as a deputy secretary for threat prevention and safety. He teaches national security and counterterrorism laws at USC Law School.
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