By Ricky Dana, Candidate for U.S. House – Missouri’s 4th District
Donald Trump is once again showing us exactly who he is—an opportunist willing to bend or break the rules to consolidate power. A newly leaked Department of Homeland Security–Pentagon memo, obtained by The New Republic, details plans to expand the use of U.S. military forces for long-term immigration enforcement and domestic deployments. This isn’t just about border security—it’s about turning our neighborhoods into staging grounds for political control.
The memo envisions a future where military units, including the National Guard and even active-duty troops, could be stationed in American cities for years. They would not be responding to hurricanes, floods, or national emergencies—they would be enforcing immigration laws and taking on crowd control duties that belong to civilian law enforcement. This is a dangerous shift that risks eroding the very freedoms our Constitution guarantees.
Trump’s plan includes creating a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force,” a 600-troop unit based in Alabama and Arizona, ready to deploy to any U.S. city at a moment’s notice. According to The Guardian and The Washington Post, this force could be used for protests, immigration raids, or any situation Trump deems a “disturbance.” That is far too much unchecked power in the hands of one person.
We have laws to prevent this very thing. The Posse Comitatus Act—in place since 1878—was designed to keep the military out of civilian policing. It came after a dark period when federal troops were used to control citizens during Reconstruction. History has shown that military involvement in domestic affairs often leads to abuses of power, intimidation of communities, and suppression of dissent. Weakening that safeguard threatens the balance of power our founders built into our system.
And yet, Trump has already begun testing these limits. He sent 800 National Guard troops into Washington, D.C., claiming a “crime wave” that data shows does not exist. Violent crime is at its lowest in three decades. This was never about safety—it was about political theater and flexing power. In California, courts are weighing whether Trump’s deployment of the Guard during Los Angeles immigration raids violated the Posse Comitatus Act. If found unconstitutional, it could be one of the most blatant violations of this law in modern times.
Former military leaders, veterans, and civil rights advocates are warning us: using troops for civilian law enforcement undermines the trust between the military and the people, and risks politicizing our armed forces. Civil liberties groups point out that such deployments can chill free speech, discourage lawful protest, and disproportionately target immigrant communities already living in fear.
Meanwhile, our current congressman, Mark “Awful for Missouri” Alford is silent. He is letting Trump rewrite the rules, ignoring both the Constitution and the will of the people. Silence in the face of this kind of overreach is complicity—and it’s a betrayal of the oath every member of Congress swears to uphold.
When I’m elected as your congressman, I will stop this abuse of power. I will:
• Demand full congressional oversight for any domestic military deployments.
• Strengthen the Posse Comitatus Act to protect against political misuse of our military.
• Support governors who refuse to deploy their National Guard units for political purposes.
• Defend your right to protest and speak freely without intimidation from armed troops.
This is not a partisan issue—it is a constitutional one. America is not a battlefield, and our streets are not combat zones. If Donald Trump gets his way, that line will blur until it disappears entirely. I will not let that happen. The people of Missouri’s 4th District deserve a representative who will defend their freedoms, stand up to authoritarian overreach, and keep the military where it belongs—defending our nation, not policing our neighborhoods.
Sources:
The New Republic – Trump’s Domestic Use of Military Set to Get Worse, Leaked Memo Shows
The Guardian – Trump’s plan for domestic troop deployment raises alarm
The Washington Post – Inside the plan for a Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force
TIME – Trump’s D.C. troop deployment faces criticism
POLITICO – California court considers legality of Trump’s Guard deployment