Federal Agents ‘Do Not’ Need Permission To Go Into Cities To Enforce Federal Laws – Here’s Why

Donald Trump made a statement yesterday that he was sending federal forces into Chicago.  He didn’t take the easy way, he took the right way.  Many people around him have been giving him advice to stay out of local jurisdictions and just let the American people see the chaos and slaughter of innocents.

A 3-year-old girl was shot in the face on Wednesday in South Shore Chicago while riding in the family car.  The politicians in Chicago have allowed this to happen.  That 3-year-old girl had rights.  What if, God forbid, she doesn’t make it?  That’s a lifetime stolen from us.  Yes, us, society.

Life means very little to the animals who would recklessly shoot in the direction of a car driving by and hitting a little girl in the face.  If she died, by normal standards that 3-year-old girl would have lived to at least 70.  If she doesn’t make it, that’s 67 years stolen from her.  That means no cherished memories for her parents.  No birthday parties, no Christmas mornings, never knowing the fun of Halloween, of her first dance, wearing a prom dress.  It means no going to college.  No getting married and having children of her own.  No grandchildren.  No memories of a life well lived, because some Democrats refuse to do their jobs and protect the people of their cities.

Prior to making his plans “official” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) vowed on Monday that she is going to “use every tool” she has to stop the federal government from having federal law enforcement agents operating in Chicago the way they did in Portland and criticized the local Fraternal Order of Police leader as “unhinged” and hungry for attention for his stance on the issue.  She made the announcement on MSNBC’s “the ReidOut.”

The mayor has since backed down, because someone must have told her there’s nothing she can do about federal agents coming into her city to enforce federal laws.

“Perhaps no citizens have suffered more from the menace of violent crime than the wonderful people of Chicago, a city I know very well,” Trump said.

Attorney General William Barr said hundreds of federal agents would participate in the Chicago surge, where they will be engaged in “classic crime-fighting” such as investigating homicides, gangs, gun crime and drug trafficking organizations.  The new agents will include members of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies.

As soon as Trump started talking about sending federal agents into local jurisdictions to protect federal property left wing mob immediately hyperventilated with cries of “that’s unconstitutional” and declaring that by law the president has to have the permission of the governor and or local authorities to do anything inside their jurisdictions.

We reported on Portland Mayor Teargas Ted Wheeler telling a bunch of protesters Wednesday night that federal agents coming to Portland was unconstitutional.

Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania said the idea of federal agents in Philadelphia “would be unwelcome here as it has been in Portland.”

Trump ripped blue city mayors as “liberal Democrats.”

Wolf, a Democrat, sniped at Trump’s outlook on Democrats and made clear his stance on the idea of deployment of federal agents to cities across the state.

“Yeah apparently he doesn’t listen to me,” said Wolf to a round of laughter from the mostly doctors, nurses and health care workers at the press conference, which was held in a parking lot at York Hospital. “Certainly I would voice my opposition.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who should know federal law for goodness’ sake, said of federal agents going into Portland that they were “kidnapping protesters in unmarked cars in Portland – all with the goal of inflaming tensions for their own gain.”

These people are as ignorant as it gets.  I truly believe that Democrats call anything they don’t like unconstitutional, because they have no idea what is in the Constitution, or what is federal law.

Enough is enough!  It’s time to set the record straight.

The president of the United States needs no permission from any governor or mayor, or any other publicly elected official, to go into any jurisdiction to enforce federal laws or to protect federal property, period.  Full stop.

If you look up United States Code (USC), that’s where all of our federal laws are sitting, and you search for 18 U.S. Code §3056 Powers, authorities, and duties of United States Secret Service (Emphasis added.), that’s where it lists everything the Secret Service, under the authority of Homeland Security, is allowed to do.  Read it here.

For example, Section (b) (3) says:

Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secret Service is authorized to detect and arrest any person who violates—

…  any of the laws of the United States relating to electronic fund transfer frauds, access device frauds, false identification documents or devices, and any fraud or other criminal or unlawful activity in or against any federally insured financial institution; except that the authority conferred by this paragraph shall be exercised subject to the agreement of the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security and shall not affect the authority of any other Federal law enforcement agency with respect to those laws.

So, that means if someone in a city commits fraud with a wire transfer or uses false ID to commit a crime, that is a violation of federal law, and federal agents have to ask NO ONE for permission to go in and arrest the criminal.

Under Section (c) is the following:

(1)Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, officers and agents of the Secret Service are authorized to—

Just so we’re clear, federal agents have a lot of authority to enforce federal laws anywhere in the United States where federal laws are being broken.

Here’s another one.  Under 40 U.S. Code §1315.Law enforcement authority of Secretary of Homeland Security for protection of public property (Emphasis added.):  this section of federal law says that the Department of Homeland Security can deputize any federal agent to do any operation done by the specific federal agency being assigned the temporary duty of an operation.  Read it here.

That means FBI, DEA, ATF, Secret Service, Federal Marshals and others can be deputized to go into local jurisdictions to enforce federal laws or to protect federal property explain here:

(a) In General.—

To the extent provided for by transfers made pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Secretary of Homeland Security (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”) shall protect the buildings, grounds, and property that are owned, occupied, or secured by the Federal Government (including any agency, instrumentality, or wholly owned or mixed-ownership corporation thereof) and the persons on the property. (Emphasis added.)

(b) Officers and Agents.—
(1) Designation.—
The Secretary may designate employees of the Department of Homeland Security, including employees transferred to the Department from the Office of the Federal Protective Service of the General Services Administration pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as officers and agents for duty in connection with the protection of property owned or occupied by the Federal Government and persons on the property, including duty in areas outside the property to the extent necessary to protect the property and persons on the property.
(2) Powers.—While engaged in the performance of official duties, an officer or agent designated under this subsection may—
(A) enforce Federal laws and regulations for the protection of persons and property;
(B) carry firearms;
(C) make arrests without a warrant for any offense against the United States committed in the presence of the officer or agent or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States if the officer or agent has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a felony;
(D) serve warrants and subpoenas issued under the authority of the United States;
(E) conduct investigations, on and off the property in question, of offenses that may have been committed against property owned or occupied by the Federal Government or persons on the property; and
(F) carry out such other activities for the promotion of homeland security as the Secretary may prescribe.

So, now you know that the next time you hear a mayor, a governor, a member of Congress, or the idiotic mainstream news media say that federal agents going into cities is unconstitutional, they are lying to you.  Either that, or they are as ignorant as it gets.  There’s no third option.