Under orders from President Donald Trump, 1,500 active-duty service members and additional air and intelligence assets are being deployed to the southwest border, Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said.
U.S. military personnel will be playing an active role in federal deportation efforts already underway in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection sectors of San Diego and El Paso.
The announcement came roughly 36 hours after Trump issued multiple border security orders, including directing U.S. military forces to retain operational control of U.S. borders and protect the territorial integrity of the United States
The military has long played “an established role in securing our borders against threats of invasion, against unlawful forays by foreign nationals into the United States, and against other transnational criminal activities that violate our laws and threaten the peace, harmony, and tranquility of the Nation,” Trump’s order states. “Threats against our Nation’s sovereignty continue today, and it is essential that the Armed Forces staunchly continue to participate in the defense of our territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
It directs the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) to “seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities.”
