A newly revealed Department of Homeland Security memo gave National Guard troops the green light to be used as federal immigration officers, raising fears that the legal rationale could be used in the upcoming midterm elections.
The document, issued months after President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, made the case that National Guard members can act as immigration officers when ordered to serve outside their home states, NOTUS reported Friday. It authorized them to “perform immigration functions,” like arresting undocumented immigrants.
“Combined with the administration’s escalating claims about noncitizen voting, this theory could be used to put military forces near polling places under the guise of immigration enforcement,” American Oversight executive director Chioma Chukwu told NOTUS. He added that the confidential memo raises a broader threat beyond immigration.
“This memo gives the president a ready-made workaround for using military power at home whenever the administration decides its agenda demands it,” he said.
Obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, the April 2025 memo argued that National Guard troops assume a different legal status, effectively becoming federal employees when assigned to another state. It was written by Joseph Mazarra, the then-DHS general counsel.
“National Guard troops have still assisted with background immigration work and provided security for federal agents carrying out immigration arrests, but the Trump administration has not yet openly directed the service members to directly carry out arrests,” NOTUS pointed out Friday.
The outlet added that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has sought to investigate voter fraud claims through his agency.
“We will scrub all election records, looking for illegal aliens and those who are ineligible to vote, including those that somehow voted, yet they were deceased,” Mullin previously stated.
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