US President Donald Trump is set to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Mexico border, his spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday, as part of his efforts to address immigration challenges.
“President Trump signed an executive order for 1,500 additional troops for the United States’ southern border,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House.
Approximately 2,500 US National Guard and Reserve forces are already stationed at the border, and the newly deployed active-duty troops will join them. Currently, no active-duty personnel are assigned to the area.
The additional troops will assist border patrol agents with logistics, transportation, and barrier construction, roles they have fulfilled during previous deployments under both Trump and former President Joe Biden.
As part of the executive order, Trump has directed the incoming secretaries of defense and homeland security to report within 90 days on whether the 1807 Insurrection Act should be invoked. This act would allow the use of military forces for civilian law enforcement on US soil. The last time it was invoked was in 1992, during the Los Angeles riots following the acquittal of four police officers charged with beating Rodney King.
The deployment, which was widely expected, represents an early move in Trump’s first week in office and aligns with his long-standing commitment to enhancing military presence along the border. On Monday, Trump instructed the defense secretary to draft a plan to “seal the borders” and address “unlawful mass migration.”
In his inaugural address on Monday, Trump declared, “I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will be stopped immediately, and we will start the process of returning millions of criminal aliens to their countries of origin.”
Military personnel have been stationed at the US-Mexico border almost continuously since the 1990s to combat migration, drug trafficking, and transnational crime.
