The Pentagon is preparing to deploy up to 1,500 soldiers to help secure the southern border as President Trump intensifies efforts to address the surge of migrants crossing into the United States. Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses is expected to authorize the deployment on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. However, the specific number of troops and their identities remain uncertain and may vary. Trump had promised during his campaign to deploy active-duty military forces to the border.
This announcement follows just days after Trump signed a series of executive orders related to military involvement at the border. One of the orders declares a national emergency at the border to facilitate a larger military presence. Another grants U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) the authority to create a plan for deploying troops, stating that the military must intervene to combat what is described as an “invasion.” The executive order outlined the need for detailed plans, which are expected shortly, though it did not specify the number of troops to be deployed.
Northcom currently oversees a border mission out of Fort Bliss, Texas, known as Joint Task Force-North.
The task force has authorization to deploy up to 4,000 U.S. soldiers to support border operations, mainly from the National Guard, though the troop count can vary, and active-duty military personnel have been used in the past.
Their primary role is to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with logistical tasks, transportation, and surveillance. However, the new order from Trump could push the military into a more direct role in border enforcement, raising significant legal concerns.
Elizabeth Goitein, the co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, said that the action warrants serious scrutiny.
“In this executive order, Trump seems to be bypassing the Insurrection Act and going straight to the president’s inherent constitutional authority to repel foreign invasions — with enormous implications for the use of force, cross-border operations, detention authority, etc.,” she wrote on the social platform X. “Of course, unlawful migration is not an ‘invasion’ in any legal sense. The use of commander-in-chief powers to conduct military operations against migrants would be a stunning abuse of power, even by Trump’s standards. … The notion that unlawful migration can and should be met with military force must be swiftly condemned and discredited.”
Trump’s actions related to the military come alongside a broader series of executive orders concerning immigration, including the revival of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum-seeking migrants to stay in Mexico while their claims are processed.
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