US Military Set To Deploy More Than A Thousand Active Duty Troops To Southern Border, Reports Indicate

The U.S. military will order more than a thousand additional active duty troops to assist with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Border Patrol operations there, CNN reported Wednesday.

The report comes two days after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border via executive order Monday. The troops are expected to join 2,200 existing forces to augment the Border Patrol’s operational readiness and provide intelligence on threats and migrant movements, according to the outlet.

“The Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of each relevant military department, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, shall order as many units or members of the Armed Forces, including the Ready Reserve and the National Guard, as the Secretary of Defense determines to be appropriate to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control of the southern border of the United States,” the executive order reads.

Acting Department of Defense Secretary Robert Salesses is expected to release a statement providing additional information Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The troops are expected to assist with command-and-control and air operations along the border, though they are prohibited from exercising law enforcement authorities — like seizing drugs or making arrests — on domestic land. There are variations in multiple reports as to exactly how many troops will be deployed, with CNN reporting “thousands” and the Associated Press reporting “up to 1,500.”

The active duty service members, who are present as part of Joint Task Force-North’s largely logistical operations in El Paso, Texas, are joined by some 4,500 Texas National Guardsmen assigned to Operation Lone Star, which aims to combat drug and human trafficking across the border.

“Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans, including America,” the president wrote in the executive order.

Trump is expected to order additional troops to the southern border, with this being the first wave in a series of deployments to the region, CNN reported. It is unclear whether the troops will be armed.