The Pentagon is sending up to 1,500 troops to help secure the southern border as President Trump pushes to stem the flow of migrants.
Acting Defense Secretary Robert Saleses is expected to sign the release order on Wednesday, but the exact number of troops and which units will be deployed remains unclear and could change, according to the Associated Press. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to send active-duty troops to the border.
The anticipated deployment comes just two days after President Trump signed several executive orders regarding the presence of troops at the border.
Some declare a national emergency at the border, allowing for an expanded military presence.
Another government authorized US Northern Command (Northcom) to draft a plan to send troops to the border, writing that troops must be present to respond to an “invasion.”
The executive order called for detailed operational plans expected in the coming days, but did not say how many troops would be deployed.
Northcom already operates a border mission called Joint Task Force North, based at Fort Bliss, Texas.
The task force is Up to 4,000 US troops authorized Border missions are primarily drawn from the National Guard, but numbers vary and active-duty troops have been deployed in the past.
Their mission is primarily to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. The U.S. military typically supports CBP with logistics, transportation, detection, and surveillance operations.
But Trump's order could push the military beyond its existing role of supporting immigration officials, potentially raising new legal issues.
Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center's Freedom and National Security Program, said the move deserves careful consideration.
“With this executive order, President Trump appears to be circumventing the Insurrection Act and directly addressing the president's inherent constitutional authority to repel foreign invasions. “It has a huge impact on things like detention powers,” she said.I wrote it on social platform X.
“Of course, illegal immigration is not an 'invasion' in the legal sense. Exercising the authority of the commander-in-chief to conduct military operations against immigrants is an extraordinary power, even by President Trump's standards.” It would be an abuse.…The idea that military force can and should be used against illegal immigrants must be immediately condemned and discredited.”
Trump's military orders come amid a series of immigration-related executive actions, including the reinstatement of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires migrants seeking asylum to wait in Mexico.
Updated at 1:52 p.m. ET
