ACLU Comment on DOD IG Report Concerning Troop Deployment at Southern Border

WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General today released a report concerning its limited investigation into the Trump administration’s deployment of troops at the southern border.

Below is comment from Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, in response:

“It’s hard to credit an investigation that redacts the details being investigated — the specific actions of the military at the southern border. Still, it’s clear that the military is claiming the authority to use force, including lethal force, conduct surveillance and searches, and temporarily detain people, all of which are legally questionable and contribute to the dangerous militarization of the border. It’s also clear that the Inspector General’s investigation did not go far enough. It took the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security at their word when they said they did no wrong, and did not conduct interviews with anyone actually impacted by the southern border militarization, or independent groups that actually monitor those military activities. Military policing of civilians must not be normalized and must be ended.”