Pentagon Sends Additional Troops to Bolster US-Mexico Border Security

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency upon taking office, vowing to prevent what he described as an "invasion" of migrants entering the US unlawfully.

“President Trump signed an executive order – 1,500 additional troops to the United States southern border. This comes off of his day-one action … to direct the Department of ‘Defense’ to make homeland security a core mission of the agency,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Wednesday.

Currently, approximately 2,200 active-duty troops are stationed at the border as part of Joint Task Force-North, headquartered in El Paso, Texas. These soldiers are working alongside the National Guard and Customs and Border Protection [CBP] agents.

As reported by CNN, the troops are primarily engaged in logistical and administrative tasks, including data entry and surveillance.

Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses announced that the Pentagon will deploy “helicopters with associated crews, and intelligence analysts to support increased detection and monitoring efforts.”

Additionally, the Pentagon will “provide military airlift to support DHS deportation flights of more than five thousand illegal aliens from the San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas, sectors detained by Customs and Border Protection,” Salesses informed reporters. He emphasized, “This is just the beginning.”

In total, Trump plans to send around 10,000 troops to the border, as reported by The Washington Post, citing an internal CBP document.

President Trump, who assumed office on Monday, emphasized his commitment to safeguarding the nation from the "invasion" of illegal migrants.

In an executive order signed shortly after his inauguration, he described undocumented migrants as posing "significant threats to national security and public safety," and accused them of committing "vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans."

On Monday, Trump declared a national emergency at the border and disabled a CBP app designed to assist migrants in scheduling appointments at border crossings.

During President Joe Biden's term, the US experienced a significant rise in migrant activity.

In 2023, border agents recorded a record 2.8 million encounters with migrants. Additionally, over 1.5 million migrants were categorized as “gotaways” – individuals who eluded CBP detection – during fiscal years 2021 through 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security.