US deploys 1,500 active-duty troops, helicopters to secure southern border

The U.S. Department of Defense has begun deploying 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border, marking the first major military mobilization under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown outlined in his executive orders shortly after taking office.

Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses stated the troops’ mission includes flying helicopters to support Border Patrol agents and constructing barriers, Caliber.Az reports via US media.

Additionally, the Pentagon will provide military aircraft to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with deportation flights for over 5,000 detained migrants.

“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.”

The active-duty deployment supplements the roughly 2,500 National Guard and Reserve forces already stationed at the border. Defense officials indicated that the department is prepared to send up to 2,000 additional Marines if required.

Troops began arriving on January 22, including 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton, California, and Army personnel. The 1,500 active-duty forces are separate from the Air Force units involved in deportation operations, which include four aircraft based in San Diego and El Paso.

In Los Angeles, hundreds of immigrant rights supporters held a vigil organized by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) to protest the administration’s immigration policies and executive orders.

President Trump’s directive is part of his broader strategy to curb illegal immigration. In his inaugural address, he pledged to declare a national emergency at the southern border and to halt illegal entry into the United States.

The deployment comes as an extension of prior military operations along the border. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, more than 7,000 active-duty troops were sent to Texas, Arizona, and California to address a caravan of migrants traveling through Mexico.

Military personnel have been deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border since the 1990s to combat illegal migration, drug trafficking, and transnational crime. However, the current deployment signals a significant escalation in federal efforts to secure the border under President Trump’s administration.

By Khagan Isayev