If Trump wants to smash Mexican cartels, he's got history and law on his side

Trump has strong legal authority to target drug cartels in Mexico, but military action against non-state actors could reshape border security policy for Americans.

Wilson sent 4,800 soldiers into Mexico under General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing on a "punitive expedition" to track down Villa and his men. Congress showed their approval with a concurrent resolution two days after the fact.  Chad R. Mizelle is the former chief of staff to the attorney general of the United States, former acting general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), former chief of staff at DHS, and former associate counsel to President Donald Trump. Previously, Mizelle clerked on the D.C. Circuit Court.

Though the drug cartels are non-state actors, they effectively control roughly one-third of Mexican territory, exerting quasi-sovereignty by extracting "taxes," controlling the movement of people, and intimidating and extorting government into doing their will.

Trump has done what no president in decades could do: he secured the Southern border and stopped the massive influx of illegal aliens and dangerous drugs. But is America required to stand back and wait for criminals to cross our borders in order to defend itself? Of course not. There is ample precedent for presidents using the military to take on non-state actors abroad who threatened the lives and livelihoods of Americans — even without congressional authorization.