On a trip to Stuggart, Germany, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and spoke with reporters. During the roughly 15-minute press scrum, Hegseth was asked about the Department of Defense (DOD) force posturing in Africa. His response was concerning but one aspect stood out: He suggested that the Defense Secretary and four-star generals be able to make military decisions normally reserved for the president.
When asked if the U.S.’s strategic aims in Africa were changing, Hegseth briefly mentioned China’s influence calling the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] intentions “pernicious” and tried making the case for why the president should cede the power to him to deem people ‘terrorists’ and kill them. Seconds later, he quickly shifted to the U.S.-Mexcio border.
“America’s posture there, along with allies and partners, is going to matter in contesting that space,” said Hegseth. “It certainly remains a priority. You saw the strike in Somalia on February 1st. As we talked to the command, that’s a reflection of pushing decision authority down. Untying the hands of war-fighters who in the previous administration, made multiple requests and were often denied for that kind of kinetic action,” Hegseth continued. “Or the decision has to be made at the White House when it should be made at the Four-Star level or the Secretary of Defense level more quickly based on the ability to degrade the enemy.”
Many may not remember this, but, a president having such power to declare a person a ‘terrorist’ and adding them to a kill list was a pretty big issue during President Barack Obama’s administration. It highlights just how much power reactionary post-9/11 legislation gave a president. Now, we’re faced with that power being put into the hands of a problematic former Fox News host with a Christian nationalist tattoo on his chest who is obsessed with the border.
Scary Thought
Military deployments to the U.S.-Mexico border have been controversial for decades. Under President Ronald Reagan and his administration’s version of the War on Drugs, thousands of soldiers were sent to the border. Since then, it has become a common occurrence during times of high Latinophobic-centered anti-immigrant sentiments. The regularity with which troops would be deployed to the border increased greatly after the passage of the Patriot Act.
But the idea that much of what Hegseth wants to bring to the DOD is based on white nationalist beliefs and culture wars is frightening. It didn’t take him long to jump from talking about Africa to pushing Latinophobic immigration policy ideas. His gripped focus on “securing” the southern border as the biggest priority for the Pentagon, while declaring he should have unilateral power, is terrifying. If pundits and lawmakers are already using militaristic language about immigration as authorities use seemingly benign tattoos to label migrants as gang members, what’s next?
Is it only a matter of time before the DOD starts equating these random qualifiers with terrorism as Trump so easily hands power to a loud-mouthed, far-right loon? Hegseths’s comment saying the strike in Syria was “a reflection of pushing decision authority down” suggests he may already have that decisive power. With the level of military assets already at the border and the lingering promise to increase that footprint, this could quickly and easily end very badly.
Detect, Deny, Deport
Although the U.S. Northern Command (NORCOM) has operated at the border for many years, its functions have become broader and more defined since President Trump signed an executive order declaring an immigration national emergency. Their operational capacity compared to previous administrations is much more comprehensive due to Trump’s declaration.
“Military personnel who have provided border security support as part of the FY2025 Department of Homeland Security request have performed duties to include detection and monitoring, logistics, and transportation support that enhances CBP’s ability to impede or deny illegal crossings, maintain situational awareness, and apply the appropriate law enforcement response in support of its overall border security mission.”
Before Trump, the DOD’s role in border operations was limited. In an overblown reaction to the end of Title 42, the Biden administration sent thousands of troops to the border in partnership with the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. The plan that required bolstering the military presence at the border by bringing the total number of troops to 4,000 was meant to help address a “surge” and help process asylum seekers.
The surge never manifested.
In 2023, Joseph Nunn from the Brennan Center criticized Biden for continuing the tradition of keeping a military presence at the border. He pointed out that doing so undermines the Posse Comitatus Act requiring Congressional Approval before the military can be used to conduct law enforcement operations, such as enforcing immigration law.
“President George W. Bush began the pattern of mass deployments with Operation Jump Start in 2006, but they have persisted across the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations,” said Nunn. “Indeed, the current federal military mission at the border was initiated by former President Donald Trump in 2018 under the name Operation Guardian Support. Yet it has been continued for more than two years by the Biden administration, which dropped the name “Guardian Support” but otherwise shows no signs of winding the mission down.”
While the Pentagon has a long history of operations at the border, the realization that the man in control of the military seeks unilateral power to condemn someone to death is worrisome.
Conclusion
With all the talk in the news of the Trump administration abandoning Ukraine and bowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it’s not surprising a story like this gets overlooked. Simply looking for a news story about Hegseth’s strategy in Africa or his presser at AFRICOM in Germany nets no legacy media results. Instead, the stories are from the DOD, military (.mil) websites, foreign news services, and blogs. It’s a major and dangerous oversight.
Hegseth’s preoccupation with the U.S.-Mexico border raises many questions about the U.S. military’s preparedness in more demanding areas. Focusing his national security concerns on the southern border creates unease about national defense and global posture. When Hegseth can’t answer a question about the U.S.’s position in Africa without referencing what he perceives to be an “invasion” of the United States, it’s like a bad addiction.
While we may have a long road before we get to the point of Hegseth ordering the killing of migrants, let’s not pretend it can’t happen. With all this talk of shooting asylum-seekers, it’s quite clear that the process of dehumanizing Latinos and other nonwhite immigrants is closer to completion than at any other time in modern history. And that’s a scary thought.
The situation at the U.S.-Mexico border is already tense and dangerous. Armed militia have been running around for years (with the blessings of local mayors and sheriffs). Migrant child camps and family camps became more prominent under Biden. Even the child victims of family separations have been abandoned by the same government that took them from their parents. Things we never thought we’d see normalized became common practice in just a few years.
This is a dangerously slippery slope.
Hegseth at AFRICOM
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Thank you for bringing attention to this.
Crickey. The man is deranged to start with, but this is beyond the pale.