There’s growing concern that President Donald Trump might invoke the Insurrection Act to bring National Guard troops under federal control and deploy them within the U.S. This speculation may be partly because one of President Trump’s Inauguration Day executive orders, which declared a national emergency at the southern border set an April 20 deadline for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to recommend whether to use the Insurrection Act. That date is approaching quickly.

Make no mistake: If Trump invokes the Insurrection Act to activate federalized troops for mass deportation—whether at the border or somewhere else in the country—it would be unprecedented, unnecessary, and wrong. But the president has already been increasing domestic military use. As recently as April 11th, he issued a new memorandum with yet another chill-inducing title: "Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions.” It’s worth repeating that there is no invasion of America, and if President Trump doubts that, he could consult himself. Last month he declared on Truth Social that the (fictional) “Invasion of our Country is OVER.” Yet under his new directive, the Defense Department is claiming new and potentially expansive powers over large swaths of federal land—including where US citizens and other border residents live. .

Let’s step back a bit first and recall the military’s proper, limited role on U.S. soil, and the dangerous steps President Trump is already taking in service of his cruel anti-immigrant, anti-American agenda.