For racial justice protests, Trump taps Homeland Security BORTAC squad, air marshals and Coast Guard

For racial justice protests, Trump taps Homeland Security BORTAC squad, air marshals and Coast Guard

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/for-racial-justice-protests-trump-taps-homeland-security-bortac-squad-air-marshalls-and-coast-guard-2020-07-25

“The Department of Homeland Security was never intended as a national police force let alone a presidential militia,” said Peter Vincent, former general counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

They are the most highly trained members of the Border Patrol, agents who confront drug traffickers along the U.S.-Mexico border and track down dangerous fugitives in rugged terrain.

One day this past week, they were in a far different setting — a city park in Portland, Oregon, looking for two people suspected of throwing rocks and bottles at officers guarding the downtown federal courthouse.

Beyond the debate over whether the federal response to the Portland protests encroaches on local authority, another question arises: whether the Department of Homeland Security, with its specialized national security focus, is the right agency for the job.

It’s not just the Border Patrol Tactical Unit that has been called to duty in Portland. DHS has dispatched air marshals as well as the Customs and Border Protection Special Response Team and even members of the Coast Guard.

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