1,000 U.S. troops were deployed to various points along the U.S.–Mexican border Friday morning, Fox News reports.
The troops, which include military police, engineers, and pilots, are the first of an expected 5,000 who will be dispatched to the southern border in the coming days to stem the arrival of a caravan of thousands of migrants traveling north from Honduras.
Speaking at the White House Thursday, President Trump announced that his administration will unilaterally discontinue the existing practice of allowing anyone who arrives at the U.S.–Mexico border to apply for asylum. In order to address the “crisis at our southern border,” Trump said asylum seekers would be required to “lawfully present themselves” at ports of entry.
The change in asylum processing has already drawn a legal challenge from a group of migrants alleging it violates their due-process rights under the Fifth Amendment.
While the troops deployed to the border will be armed, they can only assist Border Patrol agents and are not authorized to detain any migrants themselves. Speaking to Fox News last week, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen explained that the troops would act in a supporting role to assist existing Border Patrol forces with the expected increase in asylum seekers.
“What we’ve asked them to do is help to bolster our capabilities,” Nielsen said last Thursday. “We’ve asked for some air support, for some logistics, some planning, vehicle barriers, engineering; ways in which we can make sure that I can protect my officers and agents, as well as the ports of entry themselves.”