
Thousands of US troops have been ordered to immediately go to the US southern border with Mexico, two days after Donald Trump ordered an increase in the military presence in the region.
According to CNN, in addition to the soldiers who will be transferred in the coming days, there are already about 2,200 soldiers on the southern border as part of the Joint Task Force, the border mission of the US Northern Command based in El. Paso, Texas.
Soldiers stationed there help support the work of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, primarily by performing logistical tasks and such as data entry, reconnaissance, tracking, and vehicle maintenance.
Also, the National Guard is located on the southern border, as part of Operation Lonestar, led by the Texas National Guard.
According to the Texas Military Department, there are currently about 4,500 National Guard soldiers assigned to the mission.
What will the additional troops do at the border?
The additional troops will help maintain operational readiness for the Border Patrol, assist in command and control centers, and have more intelligence experts to assess threats and migration flows.
The troops are also expected to reinforce air assets and assist in air operations. Even more active-duty troops are expected to be deployed to the border in the coming weeks and months, one of the officials said.
It is unclear whether the troops will be armed. However, none of the active duty troops are authorized to perform any kind of law enforcement role, such as arrests or drug seizures, or involvement with immigrants, other than helping to transport them to and around various immigration facilities.
What the law says and how Trump will handle it
A more than century-old law known as “posse comitatus” prohibits the U.S. military from taking law enforcement action without a warrant. Other laws and regulations also stipulate that troops cannot engage in activities such as arrests and searches.
But the executive order Trump signed says he will decide within 90 days whether to invoke the U.S.-Mexico Border Insurrection Act, which would allow him to use active-duty troops to enforce the law.