US military preparing to send 1,500 additional troops to Mexico border

2025-01-22 22:44:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The US military is preparing to send about 1,500 more active-duty soldiers to the border with Mexico, according to an official, just two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on immigration.

The official, who asked not to be identified, did not say when the troops would be deployed.

They are expected to join about 2,200 active-duty National Guard soldiers already deployed to the border.

During his first term, Republican President Trump ordered the deployment of 5,200 troops to help secure the border with Mexico. Former Democratic President Joe Biden also sent active-duty soldiers to the border.

On his first day as president, Mr. Trump declared illegal immigration a national emergency, tasked the US military with helping with border security, issued a blanket ban on asylum claims and took action to limit birthright citizenship for children born on American soil.

His January 20 executive order directed the Pentagon to send as many forces as necessary to have "full operational control of the southern border of the United States."

"Within 90 days, the directors of the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security must make recommendations on whether further action is needed, including invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807," the order states.

The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the US president to deploy the military to deal with domestic insurrections and has been used in the past to respond to civil unrest.

President Trump was re-elected on a promise to tighten border security and deport record numbers of immigrants. He criticized former President Biden for high levels of illegal immigration, even though the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally had begun to fall sharply after Biden tightened his policies last year and Mexico tightened enforcement.

The Coast Guard, which is engaged in maritime security and law enforcement, announced Tuesday that it would "immediately increase" the number of forces and ships in several areas, including the southeastern border near Florida, to "deter and prevent mass immigration from Haiti and/or Cuba."

This institution also announced that the maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the "Gulf of America" ??is another important area.

President Trump has stated that he wants to replace the name of the Gulf of Mexico with the Gulf of America./VOA