Pentagon sending 1,500 troops to secure US-Mexico border

The Pentagon is sending up to 1,500 troops to help secure the southern border as President Trump pushes to stem the tide of migrants entering the country.

Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses is expected to sign a release order on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press, but the exact number of troops and which ones would deploy is still unclear and could fluctuate. Trump vowed on the campaign trail to send active-duty troops to the border.

The expected deployment comes just two days after Trump signed multiple executive orders relating to troop presence at the border.

One declares a national emergency at the border to allow for increased military presence.

Another authorized U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) to draft a plan for sending troops to the border — writing that the military must be present to respond to an "invasion."

The executive order demanded detailed operational plans that are now expected in the coming days, but it did not say how many troops would deploy.

Northcom already has a border mission based out of Fort Bliss, Texas, called Joint Task Force-North.

The task force has up to 4,000 U.S. troops authorized for the border mission, primarily from the National Guard, though the number fluctuates and active-duty troops have been sent before.

Their mission is primarily to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel. U.S. troops are generally assisting CBP with logistical, transportation, detection and monitoring work.

But the Trump order could push the military beyond its role assisting existing immigration agents — something that would raise new legal questions.

Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, said the move deserved careful review.

“In this executive order, Trump seems to be bypassing the Insurrection Act and going straight to the president’s inherent constitutional authority to repel foreign invasions — with enormous implications for the use of force, cross-border operations, detention authority, etc,” she wrote on the social platform X.

“Of course, unlawful migration is not an ‘invasion’ in any legal sense. The use of commander-in-chief powers to conduct military operations against migrants would be a stunning abuse of power, even by Trump’s standards. … The notion that unlawful migration can and should be met with military force must be swiftly condemned and discredited.”

Trump's military-related orders come amid a series of immigration-related executive actions, including reinstating the "Remain in Mexico" policy that requires migrants seeking asylum to wait in Mexico.

Updated at 1:52 p.m. EST

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