The White House confirmed the deployment of 1,500 additional troops on the southern border of USAas part of an executive order signed by the president donald trump. The press secretary, Karoline Leavittinformed reporters about the measure this Wednesday.
“President Trump signed an executive order, 1,500 additional troops to the southern border of the United States. “This is part of his first day action to direct the Department of Defense to make national security a core mission of the agency,” Leavitt stated.
It has not yet been specified which units will be sent, but this initial reinforcement responds to the new administration’s guidelines to strengthen border security. The executive order is part of a series of actions implemented since the inauguration of Trump, who has emphasized the need to toughen immigration policies and reinforce surveillance on the border with Mexico.
It is expected that in the coming days the Pentagon provide more details on the deployment and roles that troops will play in the area. It is expected that the Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salessessign the deployment orders on the same Wednesday.
These active forces will join the nearly 2,500 US National Guard and Reserve troops already deployed there. However, the news agency specifies that there are no active duty troops currently working along the border.
At the time of the report, it was not clear which troops or units will make up this force of up to 1,500 active soldiers, who will arrive to support border patrol agents in the construction of barriers, logistics and transportation.
Likewise, AP reported that the use of troops to reinforce border security is not new in the US. During his first term, Trump already ordered the deployment of more than 7,000 soldiers in Texas, Arizona and California in response to a migrant caravan heading to the border in 2018.
On Tuesday, in another move linked to his national security policy, Trump fired the Coast Guard commander, Admiral Linda Faganand ordered more ships and aircraft to the Gulf of Mexico, which his administration has begun referring to as “Gulf of America” (Gulf of the United States).
The deployment of active-duty troops to the border has raised questions about the roles they will perform. Until now, the Law Posse Comitatusa federal regulation from the 19th century, expressly prohibits the armed forces from carrying out maintenance of order on American soil.
That is, soldiers cannot detain or arrest people at the border unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Lawwhich dates back to 1807 and would allow troops, according to AP, to be used in maintenance tasks of the civil order on American soil.
Executive orders signed Monday by the president suggest that the military will assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with detention space, transportation and other logistical services. In his inaugural address, Trump declared:
The Department of Defense usually coordinates with the DHS to define the operational details of this type of deployment. In the past, soldiers sent to the border have participated in tasks such as:
- Transport and logistics for the Border Patrol.
- Construction of barriers and fences at strategic points.
- Medical care and food provision for border agents.
- Monitoring and surveillance of activities on the border.
The Pentagon has yet to define the operational details of the mission, including the exact number of troops deployed and their specific functions. Meanwhile, the administration of trump continues to advance its plan to toughen immigration policy and strengthen border security with measures that could reconfigure the role of the armed forces in US territory.
The debate on the legality and impact of this decision is far from over. The possibility of troops being used in law enforcement tasks It will depend on the government’s next actions and the evaluation of the need to invoke the Insurrection Law.
