Two days after being sworn in, President Donald Trump has ordered thousands of active duty troops to the southern border, according to a report.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the U.S.’s border with Mexico, allowing the National Guard and military personnel to be sent to the border.
The troops are being sent there to help Customs and Border Protection’s work in the area, CNN reported.
It’s not immediately clear how many or which units are being deployed. The Independent has reached out to the White House for more information.
These troops are not authorized to conduct arrests, seize drugs or interact with migrants aside from transporting them to other facilities, according to the outlet. They are expected to help in command-and-control centers, aid in air operations and provide additional intelligence specialists “to assess threats and migrant flows,” CNN reported.
There are already roughly 2,200 active duty forces at the border as part of Joint Task Force-North, helping support CBP’s efforts in the region by detecting and monitoring and conducting other logistical tasks, the outlet reported.
The move comes days into Trump’s second administration. He has already signed multiple executive orders that will support his plan for a crackdown on migrants at the southern border. Among this flurry of orders, Trump signed one Monday declaring a national emergency at the southern border.
The president also ordered the construction of additional physical barriers.
In an order, Trump wrote: “The Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of each relevant military department, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, shall order as many units or members of the Armed Forces, including the Ready Reserve and the National Guard, as the Secretary of Defense determines to be appropriate to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.”
He claimed: “Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans, including America.”
Although Trump has declared an “emergency” at the border, monthly border crossings have actually decreased over the past year, compared to the record highs in 2023.
About 46,000 people crossed the border illegally in November, the lowest number during the Biden administration.
In this order, Trump also gave the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security 90 days before recommending whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, allowing the president to deploy U.S. troops on American soil in certain situations.
