U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has instructed military forces to supply dozens of lawyers to the Department of Justice for temporary assignments in Memphis and near the U.S.-Mexico border, with these duties potentially extending until the fall, as indicated by a memo reviewed by the Associated Press.
In a memo dated Monday, which was sent to all four branches of the military and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hegseth stated, “I direct you to identify a total of 48 lawyers and 4 legal assistants from within your military departments who may be suitable for assignment” to the Department of Justice as special assistants to U.S. attorneys.
This memo appears to be the latest effort to deploy military and civilian attorneys from the Pentagon to the Department of Justice, this time focusing on staffing offices along the southern border of the United States or in areas where federal immigration law enforcement is taking place.
Last month, the Pentagon also approved the deployment of up to 600 military lawyers to the Department of Justice to serve as temporary immigration judges as part of a separate initiative. The Trump administration has intensified the use of the military in support of its immigration enforcement efforts, starting with deployments along the southern border and extending to various cities across the United States.