WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security has asked for 20,000 National Guard troops to assist with immigration roundups across the country, and the Pentagon is reviewing the unusual request, a U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press.
The addition of 20,000 National Guard troops would provide a huge boost to immigration enforcement.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DHS agency responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the country, has a total staff of about 20,000 people spread across three divisions.
Along the newly militarized zone, troops have put up warning signs and accompanied border agents but left the detention of migrants crossing the border to other agencies.
The request for 20,000 troops was first reported by The New York Times.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is considering the unusual request from the Department of Homeland Security for 20,000 National Guard troops to help with immigration roundups nationwide, a U.S. S. . The Associated Press received confirmation from the official.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the department requested the troops to assist in executing President Donald Trump’s “mandate from the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens.”. She stated that because “the safety of American citizens comes first,” DHS will “use every tool and resource available” to accomplish this. “.”.
They would be state-based National Guard units that would support deportation efforts in the nation’s interior, in contrast to the troops stationed at the southern border.
If the troops are still under the authority of state governors, their use may vary. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of federally ordered troops for domestic law enforcement, but permits the use of state-controlled units.
Immigration enforcement would greatly benefit from the 20,000 additional National Guard members. The DHS agency in charge of immigration enforcement in the nation’s interior, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, employs roughly 20,000 people in three divisions.
Approximately 7,700 employees, including just over 6,000 law enforcement officers, work for Enforcement and Removals Operations, the division directly in charge of detaining and expelling those who lack the legal right to remain in the nation.
The reason for submitting the request to the Defense Department rather than the states was not clear. The U. S. . An official spoke under anonymity to share information that hasn’t been made public yet.
Trump has been enforcing a broad crackdown on illegal immigration by issuing a number of executive orders aimed at halting what he has referred to as the “invasion” of the United States.
The U. A. has up to 10,000 troops already on state and federal orders throughout the U.S. A. -Mexico border, including those who have been given the authority to hold migrants they come across along a recently fortified roadside strip.
To date, these troops have mostly been used for airlifts, wall reinforcement, surveillance, and administrative support, which frees up border agents to make arrests or detain people.
Although troops have posted warning signs and accompanied border agents along the recently militarized area, they have not taken over the task of detaining migrants who are crossing the border.
Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico, the original location of the new militarized zone, have begun to drop national security charges against migrants who are alleged to have crossed the southern U.S. S. . border through the recently established military zone, discovering minimal proof of their knowledge of the area.
It was The New York Times that first reported on the request for 20,000 troops.
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