The Department of Homeland Security has formally requested that the Department of Defense provide over 20,000 National Guard personnel to support President Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration and fortify border enforcement efforts.
According to a Pentagon source who spoke with The New York Times under condition of anonymity, military lawyers are examining the legal and logistical implications of deploying the National Guard for internal immigration control. The precise responsibilities of the troops and whether state governments would need to approve their participation remain unclear.
“DHS requested 20,000 National Guard members to help carry out the President’s mandate from the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens,” said Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at DHS, in a statement to Newsmax. “The Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to get criminal illegal aliens including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and other violent criminals out of our country. The safety of American citizens comes first.”
Last week, Trump issued an executive directive instructing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to expand enforcement operations by authorizing the involvement of state and local police, retired federal agents, personnel from other federal bodies, and private contractors. The goal: to grow DHS’s field force by a minimum of 20,000 officers tasked with aggressively removing undocumented immigrants who have ignored voluntary departure notices.
Historically, National Guard personnel have been used for border-related tasks such as surveillance and logistics, not domestic immigration sweeps. However, the Pentagon official told The Times that if this latest request is greenlit, it would mark the first time Guard troops are mobilized for such a large-scale domestic immigration operation.
To bolster the push, the Trump administration has reassigned law enforcement personnel from multiple federal departments, The Times reported. Among those tapped are approximately 2,000 officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Marshals Service, who will assist with arrests.
During the early months of the administration, ATF and DEA agents were mainly involved in backup duties for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such as safeguarding arrest sites and strengthening field teams assigned to immigration enforcement.
Local police forces have also been brought into the effort. DHS has recently inked several agreements permitting local officers to execute immigration arrests in tandem with ICE. One such collaboration in Florida, which occurred late last month, reportedly led to the apprehension of over 1,000 undocumented individuals.
Acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores briefed members of Congress on Thursday, claiming that illegal crossings at the southern border have dropped dramatically—down by 99% since the start of Trump’s second term—and that traffic at the primary entry corridor from Mexico has fallen by 99.5%.
Still, one of the administration’s toughest challenges lies in locating and deporting the vast number of individuals who crossed into the country during the Biden years. To address this, DHS has rolled out a program offering $1,000 to undocumented immigrants who voluntarily agree to leave. The agency also pledged to fund travel costs and announced that those using the CBP Home app to indicate intent to depart will receive lower priority for arrest and deportation.
{Matzav.com}