Pentagon to support deportation flights, construct barriers in border deployment

The U.S. military will support deportation flights and intelligence collection and help construct barriers when 1,500 active-duty troops deploy to the southern border and begin work in the next two days.

In a statement, acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said the deployment mission began on Wednesday and involves military airlift support for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help deport more than 5,000 undocumented immigrants detained in San Diego, California and El Paso.

U.S. troops will also assist in constructing both temporary and permanent physical barriers at the border, according to the statement.

"This is just the beginning," Salesses said. "In short order, the Department will develop and execute additional missions in cooperation with DHS, federal agencies, and state partners to address the full range of threats outlined by the president at our nation's borders."

A senior defense official said President Trump views the border as a "huge priority" and that these were just initial steps.

"This is the initial effort that we can do right away, and ... we anticipate many additional permissions after this," the official told reporters. "This is just the start."

The official said up to 10,000 troops could be deployed in future missions but cautioned that the figure was not final.

Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump signed an executive order to deploy the 1,500 U.S. troops.

"This is something President Trump campaigned on, the American people have [been] waiting for such a time as this, for our Department of Defense to actually take homeland security seriously," she said. "This is a number one priority of the American people, and the president has already delivered.”

The troops slated for deployment include 1,000 Army soldiers and 500 Marines. The deployment includes additional helicopter crews and intelligence analysts, along with C-17 and C-130 transport planes.

A senior military official said the Marines activated for the mission were on standby for deployment to the California wildfires, but that assignment was recently lifted as the fires have been more contained.

The total number of troops at the border will be 4,000 once the additional forces arrive, according to the military official.

While the troops are expected to be armed, "none of the forces that we're sending there are intended to be used for law enforcement," the military official said.

U.S. Northern Command already has an active border defense mission called Joint Task Force North.

Most of the troops under the task force are National Guard members, but active-duty service members can be deployed and have been in the past to assist at the border.

U.S. troops primarily help with logistics, detection, monitoring, transportation and assisting Customs and Border Protection.

Trump signed several executive orders on Inauguration Day to assert more control over the border and migration flows.

One order deemed the situation at the border a national emergency to allow more troops to deploy, and another directed Northern Command to draft detailed operational plans to assist at the border.

Salesses met Tuesday with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair CQ Brown Jr.; senior policy leaders at the Pentagon, Northern Command and Transportation Command; and the chief of the National Guard Bureau.

The Pentagon has set up a task force led by Northern Command to oversee the implementation of the border response.

Topics

Real Madrid break €1bn barrier to top football money league

Real Madrid become the first football club to generate more than 1bn euros in annual revenue, according to analysis by Deloitte.
BBC News - 2h
West Africa's junta-led nations announce deployment of a joint force as extremist violence spikes

Niger’s defense minister says the junta-led West African countries of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have created a joint force that will soon be deployed in the restive Sahel region to face rising ...
ABC News - 14h
Border agents instructed to deport migrants without granting asylum hearings

U.S. border agents have been instructed to deport migrants crossing into the country illegally without allowing them to request hearings to seek legal pathways to remain in the country, according ...
CBS News - 5h
U.S. border agents told to summarily deport migrants without asylum hearings

U.S. border agents have been instructed to summarily deport migrants crossing into the country illegally without allowing them to request legal protection.
CBS News - 7h
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 ...
The Hill - 8h
S Korea to remove concrete barriers near runways after fatal crash

The crash of the Jeju Air flight killed 179 people, making it the deadliest air accident on Korean soil.
BBC News - 17h
U.S. expands expedited deportations beyond border areas as part of Trump crackdown

Expedited removal allows U.S. immigration officials to deport migrants who lack proper documents through a streamlined process that bypasses the lengthy and massively backlogged immigration court ...
CBS News - 1d
Trump's immediate effect on the southern border

President Trump issued a number of executive actions Monday relating to immigration. CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca has more on the border policies now unfolding.
CBS News - 1d
Emirates increases flights to this African country

Yahoo News - 1d
Border Patrol agent killed in Vermont

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was shot and killed in northern Vermont on Monday afternoon, the FBI said in a statement. The shooting took place on Interstate 91 in Coventry, roughly 20 miles south of ...
The Hill - 1d
Border Patrol agent shot dead on Vermont highway, near Canadian border

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was fatally shot on a highway in northern Vermont south of the Canadian border, authorities said.
CBS News - 1d
Trump authorizes military deployment plan to border in executive order

President Trump on Monday night signed an executive order authorizing the U.S. military to draft a plan for sending troops to the southern border. The order authorizes U.S. Northern Command ...
The Hill - 2d
Mark Milley's portrait removed from Pentagon hallway

Mark Milley's portrait as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was taken down from the Pentagon hallway where all of the paintings of the previous chairmen are located.
ABC News - 2d
Milley portrait taken down from Pentagon

A portrait of retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who has feuded in highly public spats with President Trump, was taken down in the Pentagon on Monday. A ...
The Hill - 2d
‘There is no plan’: migrant groups at US-Mexico border await mass deportations

Advocates warn that Trump’s promised deportations will flood Mexico with migrants and spur organized crime . It is cold and quiet in Casa del Migrante, a shelter in Ciudad Juárez, on the US-Mexico ...
The Guardian - 2d
Trump’s border tsar vows ‘shock and awe’ deportations in first week

Tom Homan said officers will carry out ‘targeted enforcement operations’ against immigrants with criminal records
Financial Times - 4d
Hundreds of Swedish forces arrive in Latvia in largest deployment with NATO to date

Hundreds of Swedish troops have arrived in Latvia to join a Canadian-led multinational brigade along NATO’s eastern flank
ABC News - 4d
Hundreds of Swedish forces arrive in Latvia in largest deployment with NATO to date

Yahoo News - 4d
Support for Trump’s Policies Exceeds Support for Trump

A new poll found the public is sympathetic to the president-elect’s plans to deport migrants and reduce America’s presence overseas.
The New York Times - 4d
Trump to install Texas border czar as Border Patrol chief, sources say

Mike Banks, who has spearheaded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's border crackdown, is expected to be appointed Border Patrol chief after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.
CBS News - 6d
From snowy cities to Mexican border - Trump deportations loom

'Do it the right way' Texas border residents tell migrants, while Chicago neighbourhoods prepare for raids.
BBC News - Jan. 15
Trump's incoming border czar says mass deportations will include workplace roundups

Tom Homan, President-elect Trump's incoming border czar, said mass deportations of undocumented migrants will include workplace enforcement operations. Homan also said the administration is ...
NBC News - Jan. 10
US streamlines deportation flights to China

The Biden administration repatriated more than 500 Chinese nationals in the last year, laying the groundwork for systematic deportations across the Pacific Ocean. On Friday, the Department of ...
The Hill - Jan. 10
Sites without sound: Oslo leads in quiet, low-emission electric construction

Norwegian capital’s sites were 98% free of fossil fuels last year, and it aims to increase use of electric machinery. Tafseer Ali felt no need to raise his voice as the pair of diggers lumbered ...
The Guardian - Jan. 10
It’s September 2026, and the Pentagon Is Alarmed

The effort to ban TikTok is not about what’s on the platform but about who runs it.
The New York Times - Jan. 9
Pentagon 'not aware of any plans' to take Greenland by force

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it was “not aware” of any plans to invade Greenland if ordered to do so, after President-elect Trump a day earlier refused to rule out using military force to seize ...
The Hill - Jan. 8
Pentagon sending assets to California to battle wildfires

The Defense Department is sending additional assets to California to assist with the massive wildfire spreading across Los Angeles and the southern part of the state. Pentagon deputy press ...
The Hill - Jan. 8
Trump eyes the end of wind energy construction

Click for the latest from The Hill {beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Trump eyes the end of wind energy construction President-elect Trump indicated Tuesday that ...
The Hill - Jan. 7
Pentagon reaches historic settlement with LGBTQ+ veterans

The Pentagon has reached a historic legal settlement with more than 35,000 LGBTQ+ veterans that would create "new and simpler processes to obtain updated discharge records and potential upgrades to ...
CBS News - Jan. 7
Pentagon Labels More Chinese Companies as Military in Nature

Tencent was added to the Defense Department’s list of “Chinese military companies,” contributing to a selloff in U.S.-listed shares of the WeChat owner.
The Wall Street Journal - Jan. 7
Pentagon Reaches Settlement With Veterans Dismissed Over Sexuality

The agreement, if approved by a judge, would let former service members upgrade their discharge status and receive benefits they had been denied.
The New York Times - Jan. 7
Pentagon agrees to historic legal settlement with LGBTQ+ veterans

If approved by a federal judge, the agreement means the military would help thousands of veterans seek honorable discharges.
CBS News - Jan. 6
World Cup award adds pressure to Saudi Arabia’s construction challenge

Sporting plans bulk out kingdom’s project pipeline as it seeks to reduce dependence on oil revenues
Financial Times - Jan. 6
This money bias is 'the biggest barrier to building wealth,' says financial psychologist

Putting off some key financial moves because they seem too complex? You could be costing yourself over the long run.
CNBC - Jan. 5
New Orleans’ planned barriers only designed to withstand crashes of 10mph

Files reviewed by Reuters show new system not able to prevent vehicle attacks at moderate to high speeds. Months before the deadly New Orleans vehicle attack on New Year’s Day, the city modeled ...
The Guardian - Jan. 5
This Tiny Fish’s Mistaken Identity Halted a Dam’s Construction

Scientists say the snail darter, whose endangered species status delayed the building of a dam in Tennessee in the 1970s, is a genetic match of a different fish.
The New York Times - Jan. 4
A Flight Seatmate Turned Soul Mate

When Venkata Datta Sai met PV Sindhu, a champion badminton player, on a plane, there was a spark, but her popularity concerned him. “She’s like the LeBron James of this side of the world,” he said.
The New York Times - Jan. 3
South Korea’s construction deals surpass $1trn globally

Yahoo News - Jan. 3
South Korea Jet Crash Sparks Debate Over Barrier's Proximity to Runway

Investigators probing the deadly crash are seeking clues on why the plane hit the runway without its landing gear down after an apparent bird strike.
The Wall Street Journal - Jan. 1