DHS memo reveals plan to enlist National Guard for immigration duties

A newly released Department of Homeland Security memorandum from April 2025 proposes a legal pathway for employing National Guard soldiers in immigration enforcement tasks, suggesting that Guard members operating out of state become federal employees and could be classified as immigration officers under Section 1103(a)(6). The memo contends this would not breach the Posse Comitatus Act, a claim dismissed by scholars such as Joseph Nunn of the Brennan Center for Justice, who notes no court has recognized such an exception.

The document arrives amid a broader trend of the Trump administration testing the limits of military involvement in domestic law enforcement. Although Guard units have historically provided security for ICE arrests, no public record shows they have conducted immigration arrests under the memo's framework. A DHS spokesperson responded only that the memo should be read on its own. Civil-rights groups warn the rationale could be extended to other domestic operations, including election-related activities.