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By Andrew Stanton and Gabe Whisnant
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The Pentagon plans to deploy up to 1,500 active-duty troops to help secure the southern border in the coming days, U.S. officials announced on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump moved quickly after returning to the White House to tighten the U.S.-Mexico border, a key campaign promise and a GOP priority amid concerns about the high number of migrants who have crossed into the U.S. in recent years.
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There were about 2.1 million encounters at the southern border in fiscal year 2024, compared with nearly 2.5 million in FY 2025, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Among Trump's first-week actions on the border, he signed executive orders aimed at reimplementing his Remain in Mexico policies and ending birthright citizenship. These policies are already facing legal scrutiny.
What To Know
The U.S. officials provided information to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, as the announcement has not yet been made public. The move enacts Trump's executive orders, issued shortly after he took office, to intensify immigration enforcement.
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Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses is expected to sign the deployment orders on Wednesday. However, it is not yet clear which troops or units will be deployed, and the total number of troops may vary.
Salesses said the troops will fly helicopters to assist Border Patrol agents and help in the construction of barriers. The Pentagon also will provide military aircraft for Department of Homeland Security deportation flights for more than 5,000 detained migrants.
The number of troops and their mission may soon change, Salesses said in a statement. "This is just the beginning," he said.
There are already 2,500 U.S. National Guard and Army Reserve forces at the border, but no active-duty forces were present before Wednesday, the AP reported. Both Trump and Joe Biden sent military personnel to the border during their administrations.
What Will Active Military Do at U.S.-Mexico Border?
The deployed forces are expected to help Border Patrol agents by providing logistics and transportation assistance and constructing barriers.
At present, federal law prohibits troops from law enforcement activities. But Trump could invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 over the coming months to open up that possibility.
He has issued an executive order requiring the secretaries of defense and homeland security to issue a report within 90 days about "the conditions at the southern border."
The report will also cover any actions needed to "obtain complete operational control of the southern border, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807," the order says.
What People Are Saying
Donald Trump said during his inaugural address: "I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch and release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country."
Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America, said on X (formerly Twitter): "Sending active duty troops to the border now is nothing more than Trump overtly using them as political props. Especially since active duty troops are forbidden from doing law enforcement under the Posse Comitatus Act. They can't arrest or detain anyone at the border unless Trump acts to invoke the Insurrection Act. Which of course may be next."
What Happens Next
Trump is expected to continue prioritizing actions affecting border security, a key issue for his voter base. Some of these efforts are facing legal challenges. Meanwhile, other enforcement actions such as deportations of migrants are already underway.
Update: 1/22/25, 7:50 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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