Pentagon to deploy troops for border security enhancement, facilitate migrant airlift
This marks the initial phase of a larger strategy to send thousands of service members to the southern border.
TroibNews 
The Pentagon is deploying at least 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border to bolster security and assist with a significant military airlift of undocumented migrants.
This decision, revealed by the Defense Department, marks the initial phase of officials' response to President Donald Trump’s executive order, which employs the military to curb the influx of individuals illegally entering the U.S.
According to Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses, the Pentagon's Transportation Command will deploy military aircraft to relocate over 5,000 undocumented immigrants currently detained by Customs and Border Protection from San Diego and El Paso, Texas. The troops will also aid in the construction of new border fences and barriers.
A senior U.S. military official, who requested anonymity to discuss the plans, indicated that the number of active-duty troops at the border will rise from 2,200 to approximately 4,000. This contingent will comprise 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines. The Marines, initially on standby for California wildfire support, have been redirected to the border. Troops began their movement earlier today and are expected to arrive later tonight or early tomorrow morning.
“This is the initial effort that we can do right away, and we anticipate many additional missions,” the official stated. “This is just the start.”
Currently, around 2,200 troops are operating under Joint Task Force-North, which is linked to the Northern Command's mission in El Paso, Texas. They collaborate with Operation Lonestar, a Texas-led initiative that involves several thousand Texas Guardsmen and volunteer Guard troops from various other states.
The newly deployed forces will primarily provide logistical assistance, maintenance, and intelligence and monitoring support via drone and helicopter to the Border Patrol. It is important to note that active-duty troops are prohibited from engaging in law enforcement activities unless the president chooses to enact the Insurrection Act, a 19th-century U.S. law.
In his statement, Salesses mentioned that he has instructed the Pentagon to form a task force that includes U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command, active-duty U.S. military, and the National Guard Bureau.
While the troops will refrain from law enforcement duties, Trump has indicated he will determine within 90 days whether to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would permit them to do so.
Trump's executive order also instructed U.S. Northern Command—the Pentagon’s military division responsible for homeland defense—to devise a plan within ten days to address what the White House has described as an “invasion” of undocumented migrants entering the U.S.
Nonetheless, some legal experts express concern that this approach could lead to the military treating unarmed migrants as if they were armed combatants.
“[Trump] seems to be treating migration as if it were in the same way he would treat an armed attack from a foreign government,” remarked Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. “He is attempting to sort of shoehorn, essentially, immigration and enforcement into that legal framework.”
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
This decision, revealed by the Defense Department, marks the initial phase of officials' response to President Donald Trump’s executive order, which employs the military to curb the influx of individuals illegally entering the U.S.
According to Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses, the Pentagon's Transportation Command will deploy military aircraft to relocate over 5,000 undocumented immigrants currently detained by Customs and Border Protection from San Diego and El Paso, Texas. The troops will also aid in the construction of new border fences and barriers.
A senior U.S. military official, who requested anonymity to discuss the plans, indicated that the number of active-duty troops at the border will rise from 2,200 to approximately 4,000. This contingent will comprise 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines. The Marines, initially on standby for California wildfire support, have been redirected to the border. Troops began their movement earlier today and are expected to arrive later tonight or early tomorrow morning.
“This is the initial effort that we can do right away, and we anticipate many additional missions,” the official stated. “This is just the start.”
Currently, around 2,200 troops are operating under Joint Task Force-North, which is linked to the Northern Command's mission in El Paso, Texas. They collaborate with Operation Lonestar, a Texas-led initiative that involves several thousand Texas Guardsmen and volunteer Guard troops from various other states.
The newly deployed forces will primarily provide logistical assistance, maintenance, and intelligence and monitoring support via drone and helicopter to the Border Patrol. It is important to note that active-duty troops are prohibited from engaging in law enforcement activities unless the president chooses to enact the Insurrection Act, a 19th-century U.S. law.
In his statement, Salesses mentioned that he has instructed the Pentagon to form a task force that includes U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command, active-duty U.S. military, and the National Guard Bureau.
While the troops will refrain from law enforcement duties, Trump has indicated he will determine within 90 days whether to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would permit them to do so.
Trump's executive order also instructed U.S. Northern Command—the Pentagon’s military division responsible for homeland defense—to devise a plan within ten days to address what the White House has described as an “invasion” of undocumented migrants entering the U.S.
Nonetheless, some legal experts express concern that this approach could lead to the military treating unarmed migrants as if they were armed combatants.
“[Trump] seems to be treating migration as if it were in the same way he would treat an armed attack from a foreign government,” remarked Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. “He is attempting to sort of shoehorn, essentially, immigration and enforcement into that legal framework.”
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
