That's not technically correct. Posse Comitatus prohibits the use of US military personnel within the borders of the US for law enforcement purposes. If the military couldn't perform tactical operations at all within the US, then they wouldn't be able to repel a military invasion and Air Force jets wouldn't be allowed to fly CAP over US territory. Members of the military under Federal control are forbidden from exercising general police powers except on federal property.gigag04 wrote:Military by Fed'l law cannot operate within US for tactical operations. If there needs to be a high speed terrorist killing team they call FBI's HRT which is on par with Delta/Seals/SF/Force Recon when it comes to CT and tactical high risk operations.
Can you imagine a covert op Delta operator going the through a grand jury for a law enforcement related shooting?
This was one of the primary arguments for the creation of HRT.
This is one reason why the President can't really order National Guard troops to the border to prohibit illegal immigration. If the President orders the National Guard to the border, they would then be doing so while under Federal orders. Border security in the US is a law enforcement, not military, activity. Therefore, the President ordering the National Guard to enforce border laws would be a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. If the governor wanted to do that, it would then be legal, as the National Guard would then be under State and not Federal control.
The Coast Guard is exempt from Posse Comitatus, by the way.