President Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed “peacemaker and unifier,” has already begun to restructure the military to ensure his agenda is carried out to the fullest extent with no exceptions. Trump’s hypocritical and threatening remarks about maintaining control over Greenland and the Panama Canal raise concerns over a manifest destiny-style militaristic approach. This is only the beginning of his militaristic tendencies.
With the help of Pete Hegseth, the recently confirmed Secretary of Defense who has no experience, the Trump administration is seeking extremist approaches to deconstruct the Pentagon and attempt to reshape the laws of war.
His experience is in the Army National Guard. Formerly serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hegseth expressed his frustrations with having to abide by military rules or what he calls “political correctness.” Bringing these frustrations into his current position, Hegseth has explicitly said that the Pentagon’s “restrictive rules of engagement” make it difficult for America to engage in war. His experience serving is in the Army National Guard.
In order to achieve Trump’s dream of a military with few regulations, the Trump Administration is currently moving to remove the Civilian Protection of Center of Excellence office in the Pentagon. This office is specifically designed to reduce and investigate civilian deaths and harm at the hands of the United States Army. Without the ability to monitor the excessive use of force on civilians, in other words, war crimes, there are no guardrails for military personnel to abide by the rules of war. This detrimental decision is entirely fueled by Hegseth’s personal bitterness about simply having to comply with regulations.
Donald Trump has given Pete Hegseth the authority to develop and oversee militaristic operations through policy-making and advice. In a memo, Hegseth lays out a detailed plan to reshape the military under the guise of removing “DEI” policies. But in reality, Hegseth plans to cherry-pick military officials who will blindly follow his and Trump’s agenda.
The Department will now be responsible for hiring, promoting and selecting individuals based on merit. One of their core missions is to allow the United States to remain powerful through “lethal force.” This policy would ensure that the United States maintains an aggressive and allegiant military.
By declaring immigration as a national emergency, Trump has given himself the authority to deploy the Armed Forces and the National Guard to assist in the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants to “protect Americans from foreign threats.” Using the Insurrection Act of 1807, Trump can deploy the National Guard anywhere in the country. Additionally, using his status as commander in chief, he revived the Aliens Enemies Act from 1789 and is beginning to plan to deport undocumented immigrants without a fair due process in order to expedite deportation.
Trump’s executive action of expanding Guantánamo Bay to detain undocumented immigrants is an active attempt to violate human rights and disregard legal processes. He plans of detaining as many as 30,000 immigrants to place them in camps in Guantánamo Bay, which was used to interrogate suspected terrorists through torture, abuse and by violating the legal rights of detainees.
Additionally, Trump has also reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy forcing asylum seekers to remain in dangerous camps in Mexico while their immigration claims are processed. Oftentimes, individuals in the camps are victims of abuse and violence and are left with no legal representation.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun to escalate their arrests and now holds the authority to target vulnerable locations such as schools and churches with the new quota set at arresting 1,800 undocumented immigrants a day. If any governmental officials refuse to comply with the immigration enforcement proposed by the administration, they will face legal repercussions from the Department of Justice.
President Trump’s administration, including Pete Hegseth, show no regard for human rights and will deliberately abuse their authority and military presence to advance their agendas. Handpicking military officials while simultaneously removing the Pentagon’s ability to report war crimes is a calculated tactic to avoid accountability and for Trump to surround himself with “yes men.” With a complicit military, the mass deportations of undocumented immigrants will accelerate and result in unlawful and abusive detainment in Guantánamo Bay. Americans are obligated not to turn a blind eye to the atrocities currently being established.
