Saturday, February 15, 2025

US deploys 1,500 troops to border with Mexico

The new United States government is taking swift action to bolster security along the 3,145-kilometer-long U.S.-Mexico border as President Donald Trump seeks to fulfill his campaign promise to halt illegal immigration and stop the entry of illicit drugs.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses announced Wednesday that he had approved the immediate deployment of 1,500 additional active-duty troops to the United States’ southwest border.

A U.S. soldier stands guard near the Mexico border, behind rows of barbed wire
A U.S. soldier stands guard at the border between Texas and Coahuila on Jan. 20. (Cuartoscuro)

The deployment consists of 1,000 soldiers and 500 marines who had previously been on standby in Southern California to potentially help combat the Los Angeles County wildfires, according to a senior military official quoted by the U.S. Department of Defense news department.

Salesses said in a statement that the Department of Defense (DoD) would “begin augmenting its forces at the southwest border with an additional 1,500 ground personnel, as well as helicopters with associated crews, and intelligence analysts to support increased detection and monitoring efforts.”

He noted that the additional deployment represents a 60% increase in active-duty ground forces since Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday.

Just hours after he took office, Trump signed one executive order declaring a “national emergency” at the United States-Mexico border and another entitled “Securing our borders.”

Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses stands with a group of U.S. soldiers, like those he deployed to the Mexico border
Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses announced the deployment on Wednesday. (Michael Redd/U.S. Department of Defense)

Salesses said that the U.S. president directed him to “take all appropriate action to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.”

“… At my direction, DoD established a Task Force to oversee expedited implementation of the Executive Orders,” he said.

The Associated Press reported that U.S. troops are “prohibited by law from doing law enforcement duties under the Posse Comitatus Act, but that may change” if the Trump administration invokes an 1807 law called the Insurrection Act. Such a move — on which Trump has sought the opinion of senior officials — would allow troops on the border to be used in civilian law enforcement, AP said.

In addition to the troop deployment, Salesses said that he approved two other “immediate actions” that would commence on Wednesday.

He said that the DoD would provide military airlift to support Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deportation flights of “more than five thousand illegal aliens from the San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas sectors detained by Customs and Border Protection.”

The acting defense secretary also said that the DoD would “begin assisting in the construction of temporary and permanent physical barriers to add additional security to curtail illegal border crossings and illicit trafficking.”

“This is just the beginning,” Salesses said, adding that the DoD, “in short order,” would “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.”

Deportation of migrants from US border
The DoD will support the U.S. agency that organizes deportation flights, in addition to helping construct border barriers, Salesses said. (CBP/Twitter)

“President Trump directed action from the Department of Defense on securing our nation’s borders and made clear he expects immediate results. That is exactly what our military is doing under his leadership,” he said.

Trump on Monday said that the U.S. military could even be used in Mexico to combat Mexican cartels.

“Stranger things have happened,” he told reporters as he signed executive orders in the Oval Office.

Trump has railed against both Mexico and Canada for allowing migrants and drugs into the United States. He said on Monday that his administration could impose a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian exports to the U.S. on Feb. 1 “because they’re allowing vast numbers of people … to come in and fentanyl to come in.”

During his first term as president, Trump threatened to impose a blanket 5% tariff on Mexican exports to pressure the Mexican government to do more to stem illegal immigration to the United States. The Mexican government averted the proposed tariff in June 2019 when it reached an agreement with the U.S. under which it deployed troops to ramp up enforcement against migrants.

Mexico News Daily 

21 COMMENTS

  1. Sanctioning other countries to destroy their economies and interfering with their governments to “regime change” them causes chaos, poverty, violence and refugees. Terrible governance domestically fuels drug addiction among other problems. Wealthy people and companies are rewarded with lower costs in human resources. It’s intentional. Trump is grandstanding to convince the people who want to believe the US’ problems are being caused externally. Wealth inequality is increasing.

  2. Such a smoke screen. The border is fine. Crossings are way down. Mexico is fine. They’re lovely people who don’t deserve to be demonized. I’m using nice language. This (by T) is a diversionary tactic. The real problems (housing, grocery prices) go unaddressed. But believe me, prices at our stores will reveal this is the opposite of relief.

  3. Cartels rule Mexico admit it either agree with Trump or consequences will result Mexican politicians are fed with drug moneys and beholden if they resist they will be assinnated y the Cartels this is Mexican or reality

  4. Finally, someone got it “right”. THE CARTELS RULE MEXICO. In reality, all the people face danger every day. You don’t know when you are going to be asked to pay some money, to stay alive. All “rich businessman” play this game, (they have no choice) but to pay when the cartels come “collecting” otherwise “some very nasty and bad things start occurring to your business. Do you like to live like that every day? How can any person say, I am a happy person, you are lying to yourself. If you want to live in Mexico, you have “no other choice, but to put up with the cartels”. That is why the US needs Fences: and “borders” that can NOT BR be control by the “cartels” Mexico can continue to be and remain a” sovereign nation, The only bad part with this se-up, it remains has under the control of the “cartels” “(at least for the time being).unless the people want Trump to get involved and assist you. (It’s your choice to make). Question. “Do you think the Mexican Army, the Navy, the Air Force is strong ‘enough to completely “wipe” out the “Simaloa Cartel”and the “Jalisco New Generation Cartel?”. If you think they can do this jo, don’t waste any time and go tell President Sheinbaum that. She needs to hear that from you right away.

  5. I have been to many beautiful remote places. I tried to move there 3 years ago to a beautiful little sheltered bay. My dream. As luck had it (bad) the deal fell through. No mainly Americans have gone down there and have jacked prices to the point of insanity!! They adorable little house at —— we’re $25,000.00 are now $200,000.00. Most houses are now in the millions. The problem is, the Mexican builders and carpenters (who are 100 times better than USA aren’t the ones making more money!! It breaks my heart!!

  6. What many are not talking about is as these individuals that have committed a crime in the US and currently being deported are being arrested my Mexican authorities as they are brought into Mexico as many have warrants in Mexico. If you were a bad guy in the US be sure to know you were a bad guy in the country you came from. One reason they left that country.

  7. I am horrified with all the bull caca about Mexico and Canada. So ashamed of my birth country. Mexico is a proud sovereign country, and rightfully so. Mexico has a FABULOUS lady president that is smart, educated and sees the emperor is a buck naked bully. Canada? The nicest people on the planet and neighbors? EH???? This is simply madness.

  8. Barriers and fences should be erected around mar a largeo and washington dc to keep the real cartels, thieves, liars, racists and cruel creeps inside and not allowed out to disease the public. Drugs will never stop going into the usa as long as they keep raising junkies and destroying the very fabric of there society. Power is all those clowns desire…..🇨🇦🙏🇲🇽

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