In “Invasion by euphemism” I cited James Dueholm’s essay “Lincoln’s Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus.” Disagreeing with the gist of what I wrote, Mr. Dueholm has emailed me this comment:
I don’t think the coming caravan would be considered an invasion for either the writ suspension or protection of states provision of the Constitution, but I do think the president has the constitutional power to deploy the armed forces to stop the caravaners. In Article II of the Constitution the entire executive power is vested in the president, and he is of course made the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and under these broad powers I think he could deploy forces to stop a large group of people from crossing the border illegally.
I’m aware of the posse comitatas law, which precludes use of the armed forces in domestic matters, but (i) the attempted crossing by the caravaners is not a domestic matter, and (ii) to the extent the law applied in this matter, it would be an unconstitutional restriction on presidential power.
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