The Pentagon will send 1,500 active-duty troops to the border with Mexico, officials say

The Pentagon will soon begin deploying up to 1,500 active-duty troops to assist with security at the southern border, U.S. officials said.

This decision is part of the implementation of plans unveiled in the executive orders signed by President Donald Trump after taking office, aimed at combating illegal immigration.

Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses is expected to sign orders for the deployment on Wednesday, but it remains unclear when the troops will be deployed and if their total number might change.

Officials who disclosed this information spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement regarding troop deployment has not yet been made public, AP reports.

The active-duty forces will join approximately 2,500 members of the U.S. National Guard and Reserve Forces currently stationed at the U.S.-Mexico border. At present, there are no active-duty troops at the border.

The forces are expected to assist border patrol agents with logistics, transportation, and barrier construction. They have performed similar duties in the past when Trump and former President Joe Biden sent active-duty troops to the border.

Under U.S. law, troops are prohibited from performing law enforcement duties at the border, but this could change. Through executive orders, Trump instructed future Defense and Interior secretaries to report within 90 days on whether they believe the 1807 law should be repealed.

If this occurs, troops could be used for civil law enforcement duties on U.S. soil.

Trump, upon taking office, indicated plans to use the military along the border. In one of his first orders on Monday, Trump directed the Secretary of Defense to present a plan for the border and how to combat “mass illegal immigration.”

During his inauguration speech, Trump declared, “I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. Illegal entries will stop immediately, and the process of returning millions and millions of undocumented criminals to the countries they came from will begin.”

In his first term as president, Trump ordered active-duty troops to the border to assist with security after a caravan of migrants from Mexico headed toward the U.S. in 2018.

In the executive orders signed on Monday, Trump suggested that the military would assist the Department of the Interior with “detention facilities, transportation [including aircraft], and other logistical services.”

Under U.S. law, active-duty troops are prohibited from arresting or detaining people at the border unless the president repeals a law passed in the 19th century. This law allows the U.S. president to deploy active-duty troops and military units to respond to unrest in any U.S. state.

In 2018, more than 7,000 active-duty troops were sent to Texas, Arizona, and California, including military police, an assault helicopter battalion, communications units, medical units, combat engineers, and other units.

At that time, the Pentagon stated that the troops would not perform law enforcement duties, so their deployment did not violate the law.

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