# Mexico Border Closing : Regardless of the mess it would create, what can the President order? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 1, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887 "2019-04-01T20:57:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/1 "2019-04-01T20:57:23Z")
Can he order that troops deploy to the border in sufficient numbers to prevent any border crossings? Since posse comitatus limits the deployment of Federal troops within the USA…could he order the troops the invade mexico by a few hundred meters and set up on the Mexican side? With ROE orders to fire on Mexican police and army members but only in self defense? Could the President order trade in goods to continue while inspecting all shipping containers for smuggled humans? Just how many containers is that, and could they really all be opened and even briefly checked? While thousands of people have the right to reenter the USA, or enter Mexico, or some people do business in Mexico where they cross the border daily, could the President create checkpoints where the wait is about 12 hours long? This would essentially grind most human business to a halt but still technically allow people who have a right to be in the USA or vice versa to eventually cross. The cheeto won’t actually order any of this, right? Or he’ll order it in an unconstitutional way, create a fuss, get blocked by injunction the same day, then appeal it in court for a few months and drop the idea after getting a symbolic victory in the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/2 "2019-04-01T22:25:22Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > could he order the troops the invade mexico by a few hundred meters and set up on the Mexican side? With ROE orders to fire on Mexican police and army members but only in self defense? I’d just like to dispute the notion of “self defense” when applied to an invading army. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/3 "2019-04-01T22:41:30Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I’d just like to dispute the notion of “self defense” when applied to an invading army. It would just be a few hundred meters. Heck, maybe just 1 meter over the border. And Trump would send threatening messages indicating that if his troops are fired on, he’ll order a full fledged invasion for real and bombing of Mexico city. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/4 "2019-04-02T00:41:23Z")
It seems like an overly broad interpretation of the posse comitatus act to say that U.S. troops may not take defensive positions along the border. The intent was that we do not have martial law whereby the army is enforcing internal laws. It seems that an army defending a country’s borders are THE reason that we have them in the first place. Further, border checkpoints cannot always be constructed exactly on the border and are sometimes several hundred feet or more inside of U.S. territory. I cannot then say that I am already in the United States and that the border patrol agents need probable cause to stop me. My point is that the army could technically be on U.S. soil, but be considered “on the border.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/5 "2019-04-02T02:02:45Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > It would just be a few hundred meters. Heck, maybe just 1 meter over the border. And Trump would send threatening messages indicating that if his troops are fired on, he’ll order a full fledged invasion for real and bombing of Mexico city. So, it’s the Stirling Archer of invasions? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jS4w5S-Jdb4/hqdefault.jpg "Archer - Just the Tip") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS4w5S-Jdb4) ---
**Author:** ![Apanthro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@Apanthro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apanthro)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/6 "2019-04-02T12:15:50Z")
Foreign policy is pretty much the only area where republican senators and representatives will speak up against trump. That being said, sending the military to the border thousands of miles away from a caravan was pretty popular with voters. I’m sure they’d love the thought of making the Mexican military very uncomfortable. Sent from my RNE-L23 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/7 "2019-04-02T12:35:02Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > …And Trump would …order a full fledged invasion for real and bombing of Mexico city. Would he warn the Russians first? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/8 "2019-04-02T12:41:51Z")
Do avocados freeze well? And what other produce is likely to disappear in a few weeks with this monumentally stupid idea? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/9 "2019-04-02T12:47:23Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Do avocados freeze well? And what other produce is likely to disappear in a few weeks with this monumentally stupid idea? [Cars and trucks](https://www.dallasnews.com/business/autos/2017/02/10/made-mexico-popular-us-vehicles-produced-south-border). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/10 "2019-04-02T12:56:29Z")
Mmmm, lug nuts. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/11 "2019-04-02T13:00:47Z")
Does Tequila freeze well? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/12 "2019-04-02T13:09:33Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > It seems that an army defending a country’s borders are THE reason that we have them in the first place. Then why did the United States ever bother to create a civilian police force with the explicit legal mandate to enforce our borders? I think we have a military to protect us from threats to our life and liberties, not to manage claims typically examined in civil courts. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/13 "2019-04-02T13:25:34Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Do avocados freeze well? And what other produce is likely to disappear in a few weeks with this monumentally stupid idea? Forget about produce. What about the cocaine! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/14 "2019-04-02T13:33:35Z")
It’s gonna have to come through the desert rather that the official border crossing points. Never fear, it’ll get here! ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/15 "2019-04-02T14:39:44Z")
Are the UK and the US involved in some kind of ludicrous bet as to who can suggest the most stupid unenforceable relations with their nearest neighbours? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/16 "2019-04-02T14:53:33Z")
“Pssssst! Hey, man you want to buy an avocado? It’s good shit!” ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/17 "2019-04-02T15:56:11Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Are the UK and the US involved in some kind of ludicrous bet as to who can suggest the most stupid unenforceable relations with their nearest neighbours? Just curious. “Hold my tea!” ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/18 "2019-04-02T20:47:50Z")
I don’t believe he will close it(don’t think the party will allow it). Just curious how he will blame not closing it on Obama and/or Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/19 "2019-04-02T21:27:16Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > I don’t believe he will close it(don’t think the party will allow it). Just curious how he will blame not closing it on Obama and/or Clinton. Depending on how its stopped, probably either activist judges, or Nancy Pelosi. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887/20 "2019-04-02T21:38:58Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > “Hold my tea!” s/tea/Bucky [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887.md?page=2)