Latest news with #militarydeployment
BBC News
13 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
How Trump is militarising the US-Mexico border
In the heart of the Texas desert, a Stryker is parked near a stretch of border wall. The light but powerful eight-wheeled combat vehicle was used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars – and now is being used to stop what US President Donald Trump has called an "invasion" at the US-Mexico Stryker is just one of about 100 such vehicles being used along the 3,100 km border. In addition, it is estimated there are over 8,000 soldiers, as well as spy planes and drones, and two Navy ships monitoring the coast.A few kilometres away on the Mexican side of the border, a young man standing on top of a hill is one of the few signs of this so-called "invasion". He is what Border Patrol agents call a "hawk," the ones who monitor and decide when and where to encourage migrants to cross into the United those crossings – not long ago at an all time high – have slowed to a trickle. The declining numbers have raised questions about Trump's border tactics, which include an unprecedented deployment of American military might. A legal loophole Trump has been accused of bypassing the conventional distinction between the armed forces and domestic police by deploying the military to the the US, the Posse Comitatus Act prevents federal armed forces from participating in law enforcement activities unless Congress has expressly authorized the military is allowed to patrol its own bases and arrest trespassers through what is known as the "military purpose doctrine".Between April 18 and May 1, the Pentagon created two National Defense Areas, both bordering the Mexican state of Chihuahua, and made them de facto parts of existing military this has done, says Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty & National Security Program, is allow the military to patrol huge swaths of the caught crossing into these areas would be considered trespassers and may be temporarily detained by US soldiers until Border Patrol agents arrive."It's exactly what the administration is trying to set up here: to turn up to a third of the southern border into a military installation," she told BBC Mundo. "When someone enters the area and is detained, they can argue that the primary reason for doing so is to protect the base."The military command insists that its mission is to detain and alert border agents so they can make the official arrest - not to do domestic police work. The Trump administration argues the expanded military areas are necessary for national security, and points to its decisive election victory as a mandate. Stronger border security was a key Trump campaign promise and one of the biggest issues for House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the new areas "will enhance our ability to detect, interdict and prosecute the illegal aliens, criminal gangs, and terrorists who were able to invade our country"."It will also bolster our defenses against fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics that have been poisoning our communities," she added. 95% isn't good enough Ms Goitein questions how the expansion of the military is justified, given the numbers of crossings at the border have fallen to historic lows. While numbers began falling before Trump took office, the decline has accelerated since January, as the administration has ramped up its efforts to arrest and deport illegal April, more than 8,000 people were detained for illegally entering the country at the southwest border.A year ago, the number was 128,000 in April - a 94 % drop - according to government General Jeremy Winters, who is in charge of coordinating the efforts of different law enforcement agencies along the southern border, has said even one illegal crossing is too many."Containment is at 95%. But 95% is not 100%," he said during a press conference."For us to accept that 95% is good enough would be to say that it's conceptually okay to break the law. And that's not what we're doing here."The creation of these national defense areas has had a direct effect on arrests, statistics show. As of 3 June, the Joint Task Force on the Southern Border has detected approximately 340 migrant in these militerised the common charge of entering the United States illegally, prosecutors now can add the charge of intentionally violating security regulations in the areas now declared both are classified as misdemeanors, the penalties for violating security regulations are much steeper. While entering the country without permission through a location not designated as a port of entry carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a fine of up to US$5,000, the second charge increases the possible penalties to up to one year in prison and a fine of US$100,000."This is pure wilderness, a desert" Carlos Ibarra, the public defender for several of the detainees, told BBC Mundo. "(The migrants) continue arriving as usual, but suddenly, they face military charges. And they don't understand anything."Some of those additional charges were dismissed, with a New Mexico judge finding that military signs were not clearly marked or could be missed. But many have been convicted and pleaded the militarisation of the border will even recently said that he pressured Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to allow the Army to cross into the neighbouring country to conduct operations against cartels, something the president flatly now, the troops remain on the US side of the border."This is their primary mission. This is not training. This is an operation to seal and protect our border, our own homeland," Brigadier General Winters said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘We didn't just deploy. We delivered': USS Harry S. Truman strike group returns home to Norfolk
NORFOLK — After nearly nine months at sea, sailors aboard the USS Harry S. Truman and its strike group look forward to fast food and home-cooked meals, birthday celebrations and trips across the country now that they're back on land. Cheers reverberated and happy tears flowed Sunday as thousands gathered to welcome home sailors from a deployment mostly spent near the Red Sea in active combat. The strike group that returned over the weekend to Naval Station Norfolk includes the aircraft carrier Truman, cruiser USS Gettysburg and destroyer USS Stout. Family members and loved ones had plenty of reasons to be nervous during this deployment. The Truman spent at least five of the eight months defending merchant ships and military vessels and carrying out missile strikes against the Houthi regime in Yemen in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Along the way, the Truman lost three fighter jets, collided with a cargo ship and brought aboard a new commanding officer. It was 'unique' — even for seasoned sailors such as Rear Adm. Sean Bailey, commander of the Truman carrier strike group. 'From the high north to the Red Sea, our strike group safeguarded America's national security interests and maintained the U.S. Navy's maritime dominance,' Bailey said during a news conference Sunday. 'It was certainly a long, challenging deployment across the board and pretty unique for my entire career as well.' Bailey said those incidents are being investigated and will serve as lessons in the future. The strike group also worked with Africa Command to conduct an airstrike that delivered more than 120,000 pounds of munitions against ISIS Somalia operatives, 'demonstrating that we are the world's strongest and most lethal fighting force,' Bailey said. 'We didn't just deploy. We delivered,' he said. It was the ninth deployment for Chief Warrant Officer Travis Rivers, who was welcomed home by his wife, Latoya Rivers, and children Travis and Troi. Latoya Rivers said he'd soon get to enjoy a big home-cooked meal — potentially his favorite of ox tails and yellow rice. And he'll get to celebrate Troi's 16th birthday this week, and catch up on movies with Travis, like the recently released 'Thunderbolts.' 'Even with everything going on, we knew that we were protected,' Latoya Rivers said. 'We trust the U.S. Navy and we trust God as well.' The family said it did its best to detach from the news during the deployment to ease their worry, and that it was particularly challenging since it was 'out of our control.' 'It was worth it and something that needed to be done,' Travis Rivers said about the deployment. 'It was hard at times but we came together as a team and we got through it.' Meanwhile, Cryptologic Technician DeJour Glasgow made a special request to stop by McDonald's for three McChickens and large fries following his first deployment, his mother said. Glasgow will get to celebrate his birthday and move in with girlfriend Adrianna Waring, who is also in the Navy and was deployed in Bahrain before the Truman's departure. His brother, Delahn Glasgow, also is in the Navy, and both were able to pass along advice about the 'stressful environment.' 'It was so stressful,' said his mother, Angela Thomas. 'I tried not to watch the news as much but I had to follow it on Facebook. Today is like a joy.' Debbie and Richard Johnston drove more than 1,200 miles from Heavener, Oklahoma, to welcome their son, Lt. Brandon Dedmon, who spent more than two decades with the Air Force before transferring to the Navy last year. Around a dozen family members showed up for Petty Officer Andrea Mosquera, on her first deployment. She said she's ready for a return to her native California. Capt. Chris Hill, who took command of the Truman aircraft carrier in February after the collision, said the return home from this deployment was 'absolutely eye watering.' Hill is the commanding officer of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, which completed a deployment in the Red Sea last year. 'The crew operated on the front lines, thwarting numerous attacks, and never gave up the fight,' Hill said. Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133,
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump has sent thousands of troops to the Mexico border. But is it the best use of the US military?
On the 2024 campaign trail, Donald Trump pledged to deploy thousands of troops to secure the southern border of the U.S. as part of his strategy to clamp down on illegal immigration. The president's characterization of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border as an 'invasion' had already been met with criticism, which grew with the idea of the domestic deployment of the military. Democrats, human rights groups, and even some groups within the military itself raised their concerns. Nevertheless, after his inauguration, troops were deployed to the border within a week, with more following along with U-2 spy planes, Stryker combat vehicles, drones, helicopters, and even two Navy destroyers off the west coast and in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico off Texas. Approximately 8,600 active duty troops are now at the U.S.-Mexico border, up from about 2,500 at the end of the Biden administration. Border crossings had fallen sharply in the latter part of Joe Biden's presidency but plunged as Trump took office. Some 8,000 people were arrested after crossing the border illegally this April, the most recent data shows. The corresponding figure for a year earlier in April 2024 was 128,000. In the vernacular of the Trump administration: 'Promises made, promises kept.' But what exactly are the troops at the border doing, and is their presence the key factor in the reduction of border crossings? Furthermore, how much does this cost, and what is the overall impact on military readiness? Should they be doing something else somewhere else? To date, this has all cost around $525 million, according to a figure from the Department of Defense reported in The New York Times. While the deployments continue to grow, so does the military's authority over territory along the border. The Pentagon has created two narrow strips of land, effectively turning them into parts of nearby U.S. military bases as a buffer zone with Mexico. They are overseen by Army commands at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas, and Fort Huachuca in Arizona Any migrants entering these areas are considered to be trespassing on military land and can be temporarily detained by U.S. troops until Border Patrol agents arrive. However, this has faced some legal challenges regarding whether migrants are aware they are trespassing in a restricted area, and there is skepticism about whether many such incidents will occur. Critics also argue Trump is carrying out an end run around the longstanding Posse Comitatus Act, which generally bars the military from domestic law enforcement. More than anything, the military's presence seems to provide a deterrent effect to people smugglers and cartels, and the troops won't be going anywhere anytime soon. The border mission is expected to last for years to address cyclical and seasonal increases in migration, Gen. Gregory Guillot, the head of the military's Northern Command, told Congress. On a day-to-day basis, troops support local law enforcement agencies, patrolling on foot, by helicopter, and in combat vehicles in a highly visible surveillance capacity that also underlines their deterrence capabilities. The Stryker combat vehicles being used are 25 tons, seat 11, and have eight wheels, reaching speeds of 60 mph. They are often positioned on a strategic overlook where smugglers and cartel members can see them, and vice versa, as they have optical sights that can spot individuals or groups up to six miles away. To answer the question of what they would otherwise be doing if not deployed at the border, the Times notes that a Stryker battalion in Texas was scheduled for training at Fort Irwin in California and would then deploy to South Korea. Those assignments have been postponed. Other battalions would similarly be training for deployment in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, or other parts of the Indo-Pacific arena. On Capitol Hill, this has raised questions as to whether this is the best use of the military. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island has been particularly vocal in his opposition. As the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, he said on May 8: 'It is difficult to explain the border missions as anything but a distraction from readiness.' His examples were a battalion of Marines that was placing miles of barbed wire across the California mountains; Navy aircrews flying the most advanced submarine hunting planes in the world across the desert; and the two Navy destroyers currently looking out for migrants in boats. While those sound like perhaps egregious misuses of military time and hardware, the Times spoke with some troops and their commanding officers at the border who said that serving in one of the president's highest priority missions gave them purpose. They also argued that they are using skills in the real world rather than in training exercises, as the patrols, planning, mission rehearsals, and surveillance flights they undertake are against actual criminal gangs smuggling people and real Mexican drug cartels. One commander of a Stryker brigade deployed along the border told the Times that military readiness levels, which are measured by Army standards such as equipment maintenance, were up to 94 percent in April, from 78 percent in December in his unit. Other commanders argue that the on-the-ground experience is driving re-enlistments among younger soldiers who did not serve in combat overseas, like their older counterparts who served in Afghanistan. 'This is their mission for their generation, and they're embracing it,' Maj. Gen. Scott Naumann, the head of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, told the Times. Naumann moved his headquarters staff to Fort Huachuca in February and oversees Joint Task Force-Southern Border, as it is known. Nevertheless, concerns about the domestic deployment of troops remain, and Pentagon leaders have traditionally shied away from deployment at the border, fearing it could pull the military into domestic politics. Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University and an expert on civil-military relations, noted that while there are lots of examples of the military being used domestically, however — except for things like disaster relief — they typicaly 'come away from those instances saying, 'Yeah, we don't want to do that again.'' 'The military prefers to orient itself towards foreign adversaries,' Feaver said. 'It prefers to have other branches of the government, to include other security sectors like police, border police, homeland security, who train for and are optimized for domestic missions — have them do it.' If the military's border role remains predominantly deterrence and working in support of civilian law enforcement, then concerns over longer-term cost and the impact on military readiness may remain as concerns. However, if troop numbers climb and mission creep becomes a factor, costs will also mount, and readiness — the physical ability to redeploy troops that would otherwise be on base in the U.S. or stationed at U.S. facilities overseas, ready to act — may change from being a concern to a real-world challenge.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Administration Live Updates: Republicans Divided Over Bill to Enact Trump's Agenda
President Trump is breaking with his predecessors' practice of mostly limiting deployments along the U.S.-Mexico border to small numbers of active-duty soldiers and reservists. In the past four months, the Pentagon has sent thousands of active-duty combat troops and armored Stryker combat vehicles to the southwestern border to confront what President Trump declared on his first day in office was an 'invasion' of migrants, drug cartels and smugglers. That's not all. The military has also dispatched U-2 spy planes, surveillance drones, helicopters and even two Navy warships to surveil the borders and coasts round the clock. The buildup of forces underscores how Mr. Trump is breaking with his predecessors' practice of mostly limiting deployments along the U.S.-Mexico border to small numbers of active-duty soldiers and reservists. About 2,500 active-duty troops were on the border at the end of the Biden administration. Now there are about 8,600. In a recent visit with troops in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the border was fairly calm. Crossings, which decreased sharply in the waning months of the Biden administration, have plummeted even further since the Trump administration declared its goal to obtain '100 percent' operational control of the boundary with Mexico. In April, about 8,000 people were arrested after crossing the border illegally, down from about 128,000 people a year earlier, according to U.S. government statistics. Even so, there is no end in sight for the military mission on the border, which the Pentagon says has cost $525 million so far. The deployments continue to grow in size, scope and sophistication even as the debate over the benefits and drawbacks rages on, and the military expands its territorial authorities to help interdict migrants. These initial steps have provided evidence to both sides of the debate over the utility of sending frontline combat forces to the border: They appear to be deterring cartels, making life somewhat harder for human smugglers and giving infantry troops, or at least Stryker crews, a chance to hone some skills. But the costs in dollars and to long-term combat readiness are still unclear. Image On the border, commanders say a Stryker combat vehicle is particularly useful when positioned on a strategic overlook where smugglers and cartel members can see it. Image The military has also dispatched U-2 spy planes, surveillance drones, helicopters and even two Navy warships to surveil the borders and coasts round the clock. Image The U.S. border with Mexico is nearly 2,000 miles, along which the military has set up two narrow strips that have effectively been turned into parts of U.S. bases. Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, the head of the military's Northern Command, recently told Congress that the border mission would probably be 'measured in years, not months.' He added that troops would need to stay longer to thwart cyclical increases in migration. The Pentagon has created two narrow strips of land along the 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico — one in New Mexico and another in Texas — effectively turning them into parts of nearby U.S. military bases. Migrants entering the strips, which are about 200 miles and 63 miles long, are considered trespassing on military land and can be temporarily detained by U.S. troops until Border Patrol agents arrive. During a visit to the border on April 25, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held up signs in English and Spanish warning migrants against entering the areas. A federal judge in New Mexico has dismissed charges against nearly 100 migrants arrested after entering the zone in the state, saying that the federal government had failed to show that the migrants knew they were unlawfully entering a restricted military area. But 'as a practical matter, I would be surprised if many people are actually detained by the military in the narrow albeit long military base,' said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap Jr., who was a deputy judge advocate general in the military. 'Rather, I expect that the overwhelming majority of the military will be involved in supporting civilian law enforcement, not detaining border crossers.' So far, the troops have been supporting law enforcement agencies, fanning out on foot patrols, in helicopters and in combat vehicles to serve as a deterrent and to give the authorities far more eyes and ears on the ground. Image There are now 8,600 active-duty personnel stationed at the border. For now, top Trump aides have ruled out invoking the Insurrection Act, a more than 200-year-old law that would allow the use of the armed forces for law enforcement duty. Mr. Trump confirmed this month that he had pressed Mexico's president to let U.S. troops into the country to help fight the drug cartels, an idea she summarily rejected. Some members of Congress have questioned whether this is the best use of active-duty troops who would otherwise be training for deployments to Eastern Europe, the Middle East or the Indo-Pacific. Lawmakers and independent analysts have voiced concerns that the border missions will distract from training, drain resources and undermine readiness. A Stryker battalion stationed in the El Paso area was scheduled for a rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., and then a deployment to South Korea. Both of those assignments have been pushed off for now. 'It is difficult to explain the border missions as anything but a distraction from readiness,' Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said in remarks on the Senate floor on May 8. Mr. Reed said that one Marine battalion had been stringing miles of barbed wire across the California mountains. Navy aircrews are flying P-8 Poseidons — the most advanced submarine-hunting planes in the world — over the desert. The two Navy destroyers are loitering off the West Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, looking for migrant boats in the water. But several commanders and some troops stationed along the border said in interviews that serving in one of Mr. Trump's highest-priority missions gave them purpose. They are using many of their skills — route planning, mission rehearsals, patrols, surveillance flights — in the real world against criminal smuggling gangs and Mexican drug cartels, instead of just practicing at their home bases or in exercises, they said. Col. Hugh Jones, the commander of the Stryker brigade deployed along the border, said military readiness levels, as measured by Army standards such as equipment maintenance, were at 94 percent in April, up from 78 percent in December for his 2,000-soldier unit of the Fourth Infantry Division based at Fort Carson, Colo. Image Col. Hugh Jones commands the Stryker brigade deployed along the border. Image Fort Huachuca's airfield in Sierra Vista, Ariz. Image Soldiers in Douglas, Ariz., along the border wall. Commanders say they must be creative to find training areas and ways to carve out time to keep their soldiers' lethal skills sharp, from basic marksmanship to firing heavier weapons. Re-enlistments among younger soldiers in the Stryker units — who never had the opportunity to serve combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq like their more senior commanding officers — have soared in recent months, commanders say. 'This is their mission for their generation, and they're embracing it,' said Maj. Gen. Scott M. Naumann, the head of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, who moved his headquarters staff to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., in February to oversee what the military calls Joint Task Force-Southern Border. The increased military patrols, working closely with Customs and Border Protection, have pushed Mexican cartels and smugglers into more remote mountainous areas to evade detection, driving up the costs of doing business, said General Naumann, who also consults with his Mexican military counterparts. Image 'This is their mission for their generation, and they're embracing it,' Maj. Gen. Scott M. Naumann said of young soldiers in the Stryker units. U.S. intelligence officials say that human traffickers are now charging migrants about $20,000 per person to be smuggled into the country, up from $7,000 a year ago. With the flow of migrants vastly diminished, military officials say they are also focusing on arguably a more difficult job: helping domestic law enforcement agencies curb the flow of illicit drugs and other contraband into the United States, even though most such drugs are smuggled through legal ports of entry. The centerpiece of the military's ground support is more than 100 Stryker combat vehicles. The Stryker is a 25-ton, eight-wheeled vehicle that can carry 11 soldiers and weapons at speeds of more than 60 miles an hour. With its giant rubber tires instead of noisy tracks, it is fast and relatively quiet. The vehicles, which were widely used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have an array of sensors that can pinpoint a target and share that information through satellite links with intelligence centers, essential in areas like Big Bend National Park in Texas, where cell coverage is poor or nonexistent. On the border, commanders say a Stryker is particularly useful when positioned on a strategic overlook where smugglers and cartel members can see it. The vehicle's optical sights can spot individuals or groups of individuals up to about six miles away. Image The centerpiece of the military's ground support is more than 100 Stryker combat vehicles. Image The Stryker is a 25-ton, eight-wheeled vehicle that can carry 11 soldiers and weapons at speeds of more than 60 miles an hour. Image The vehicles have an array of sensors that can pinpoint a target and share that information through satellite links with intelligence centers. The drab green combat vehicles and the troops operating them initially raised suspicions in some remote communities. Residents in Presidio, Texas, feared that the soldiers would come into schools searching for undocumented migrant children. Commanders sought to dispel those worries by having troops stay in local hotels to become part of the community, and they drove a Stryker to an elementary school so children could climb on it. The military's growing presence has drawn sharp reaction from criminal groups and drug cartels, commanders say. Rock throwing against troops stationed near the border has increased, instigated by criminal groups, commanders said. In an incident near El Paso, Border Patrol agents were forced to deploy tear gas to disperse a crowd taunting U.S. soldiers and threatening to kill them. American troops are armed for their self-protection but rely on Border Patrol for crowd control. Several suspicious unarmed surveillance drones monitoring U.S. troops have posed a potentially more serious hazard, General Naumann said. Based on electronic intercepts, commanders believe the cartels are spying on soldiers to figure out how to bypass them. Commanders have the authority to shoot down any drone deemed to be hostile to U.S. troops, a step they have not yet taken. 'This is a real-world mission with real consequences,' said Lt. Col. Chad Campbell, the commander of the Stryker battalion stationed outside El Paso. Indeed, two Marines were killed and another was critically injured in a vehicle accident near Santa Teresa, N.M., a few miles from El Paso. Image Soldiers at the border are also working to support Border Patrol and local law enforcement. Pentagon leaders have previously been lukewarm at best about using troops to seal the border, calling such efforts the beginning of a slippery slope that could pull the military into domestic political issues. In Mr. Trump's first term, both of his defense secretaries wanted to avoid deploying troops to the border and, if they could not, to minimize their presence there. Mr. Trump's first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, tried to protect troops from any perception that they might be engaging in partisan political activity. In April 2018, Mr. Mattis responded to the president's initial demand for a military deployment by sending 2,100 unarmed National Guard troops. That was not much different from past deployments of National Guard soldiers to the border. Later that year, in the run-up to the midterm vote in 2018, Mr. Trump ordered that troops be deployed to the border to help deal with an approaching migrant caravan. The president asked for 10,000 troops, then 15,000. Mr. Mattis responded by sending 6,000 and told them to stick to support roles. The military announced that the border mission would be called Operation Faithful Patriot. But on Election Day, Mr. Mattis told officials to drop the name, and the Pentagon sent out a terse news release saying that the operation from then would be known simply as border support. The term 'faithful patriot,' officials said, had political overtones. Mr. Mattis's successor as defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, knocked back a White House proposal in the spring of 2020 to send 250,000 troops to the border. There are plenty of examples in which the military has been used for domestic purposes. With the exception of what experts call the 'feel good' stuff like natural disaster relief, the military has 'come away from those instances saying, 'Yeah, we don't want to do that again,'' said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University and an expert on civil-military relations. 'The military prefers to orient itself towards foreign adversaries,' Mr. Feaver said. 'It prefers to have other branches of the government, to include other security sectors like police, border police, homeland security, who train for and are optimized for domestic missions — have them do it.'
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump's Military Buildup at the Border Expands
In the past four months, the Pentagon has sent thousands of active-duty combat troops and armored Stryker combat vehicles to the southwestern border to confront what President Trump declared on his first day in office was an 'invasion' of migrants, drug cartels and smugglers. That's not all. The military has also dispatched U-2 spy planes, surveillance drones, helicopters and even two Navy warships to surveil the borders and coasts round the clock. The buildup of forces underscores how Mr. Trump is breaking with his predecessors' practice of mostly limiting deployments along the U.S.-Mexico border to small numbers of active-duty soldiers and reservists. About 2,500 active-duty troops were on the border at the end of the Biden administration. Now there are about 8,600. In a recent visit with troops in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the border was fairly calm. Crossings, which decreased sharply in the waning months of the Biden administration, have plummeted even further since the Trump administration declared its goal to obtain '100 percent' operational control of the boundary with Mexico. In April, about 8,000 people were arrested after crossing the border illegally, down from about 128,000 people a year earlier, according to U.S. government statistics. Even so, there is no end in sight for the military mission on the border, which the Pentagon says has cost $525 million so far. The deployments continue to grow in size, scope and sophistication even as the debate over the benefits and drawbacks rages on, and the military expands its territorial authorities to help interdict migrants. These initial steps have provided evidence to both sides of the debate over the utility of sending frontline combat forces to the border: They appear to be deterring cartels, making life somewhat harder for human smugglers and giving infantry troops, or at least Stryker crews, a chance to hone some skills. But the costs in dollars and to long-term combat readiness are still unclear. Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, the head of the military's Northern Command, recently told Congress that the border mission would probably be 'measured in years, not months.' He added that troops would need to stay longer to thwart cyclical increases in migration. The Pentagon has created two narrow strips of land along the 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico — one in New Mexico and another in Texas — effectively turning them into parts of nearby U.S. military bases. Migrants entering the strips, which are about 200 miles and 63 miles long, are considered trespassing on military land and can be temporarily detained by U.S. troops until Border Patrol agents arrive. During a visit to the border on April 25, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held up signs in English and Spanish warning migrants against entering the areas. A federal judge in New Mexico has dismissed charges against nearly 100 migrants arrested after entering the zone in the state, saying that the federal government had failed to show that the migrants knew they were unlawfully entering a restricted military area. But 'as a practical matter, I would be surprised if many people are actually detained by the military in the narrow albeit long military base,' said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap Jr., who was a deputy judge advocate general in the military. 'Rather, I expect that the overwhelming majority of the military will be involved in supporting civilian law enforcement, not detaining border crossers.' So far, the troops have been supporting law enforcement agencies, fanning out on foot patrols, in helicopters and in combat vehicles to serve as a deterrent and to give the authorities far more eyes and ears on the ground. For now, top Trump aides have ruled out invoking the Insurrection Act, a more than 200-year-old law that would allow the use of the armed forces for law enforcement duty. Mr. Trump confirmed this month that he had pressed Mexico's president to let U.S. troops into the country to help fight the drug cartels, an idea she summarily rejected. Some members of Congress have questioned whether this is the best use of active-duty troops who would otherwise be training for deployments to Eastern Europe, the Middle East or the Indo-Pacific. Lawmakers and independent analysts have voiced concerns that the border missions will distract from training, drain resources and undermine readiness. A Stryker battalion stationed in the El Paso area was scheduled for a rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., and then a deployment to South Korea. Both of those assignments have been pushed off for now. 'It is difficult to explain the border missions as anything but a distraction from readiness,' Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said in remarks on the Senate floor on May 8. Mr. Reed said that one Marine battalion had been stringing miles of barbed wire across the California mountains. Navy aircrews are flying P-8 Poseidons — the most advanced submarine-hunting planes in the world — over the desert. The two Navy destroyers are loitering off the West Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, looking for migrant boats in the water. But several commanders and some troops stationed along the border said in interviews that serving in one of Mr. Trump's highest-priority missions gave them purpose. They are using many of their skills — route planning, mission rehearsals, patrols, surveillance flights — in the real world against criminal smuggling gangs and Mexican drug cartels, instead of just practicing at their home bases or in exercises, they said. Col. Hugh Jones, the commander of the Stryker brigade deployed along the border, said military readiness levels, as measured by Army standards such as equipment maintenance, were at 94 percent in April, up from 78 percent in December for his 2,000-soldier unit of the Fourth Infantry Division based at Fort Carson, Colo. Commanders say they must be creative to find training areas and ways to carve out time to keep their soldiers' lethal skills sharp, from basic marksmanship to firing heavier weapons. Re-enlistments among younger soldiers in the Stryker units — who never had the opportunity to serve combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq like their more senior commanding officers — have soared in recent months, commanders say. 'This is their mission for their generation, and they're embracing it,' said Maj. Gen. Scott M. Naumann, the head of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, who moved his headquarters staff to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., in February to oversee what the military calls Joint Task Force-Southern Border. The increased military patrols, working closely with Customs and Border Protection, have pushed Mexican cartels and smugglers into more remote mountainous areas to evade detection, driving up the costs of doing business, said General Naumann, who also consults with his Mexican military counterparts. U.S. intelligence officials say that human traffickers are now charging migrants about $20,000 per person to be smuggled into the country, up from $7,000 a year ago. With the flow of migrants vastly diminished, military officials say they are also focusing on arguably a more difficult job: helping domestic law enforcement agencies curb the flow of illicit drugs and other contraband into the United States, even though most such drugs are smuggled through legal ports of entry. The centerpiece of the military's ground support is more than 100 Stryker combat vehicles. The Stryker is a 25-ton, eight-wheeled vehicle that can carry 11 soldiers and weapons at speeds of more than 60 miles an hour. With its giant rubber tires instead of noisy tracks, it is fast and relatively quiet. The vehicles, which were widely used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have an array of sensors that can pinpoint a target and share that information through satellite links with intelligence centers, essential in areas like Big Bend National Park in Texas, where cell coverage is poor or nonexistent. On the border, commanders say a Stryker is particularly useful when positioned on a strategic overlook where smugglers and cartel members can see it. The vehicle's optical sights can spot individuals or groups of individuals up to about six miles away. The drab green combat vehicles and the troops operating them initially raised suspicions in some remote communities. Residents in Presidio, Texas, feared that the soldiers would come into schools searching for undocumented migrant children. Commanders sought to dispel those worries by having troops stay in local hotels to become part of the community, and they drove a Stryker to an elementary school so children could climb on it. The military's growing presence has drawn sharp reaction from criminal groups and drug cartels, commanders say. Rock throwing against troops stationed near the border has increased, instigated by criminal groups, commanders said. In an incident near El Paso, Border Patrol agents were forced to deploy tear gas to disperse a crowd taunting U.S. soldiers and threatening to kill them. American troops are armed for their self-protection but rely on Border Patrol for crowd control. Several suspicious unarmed surveillance drones monitoring U.S. troops have posed a potentially more serious hazard, General Naumann said. Based on electronic intercepts, commanders believe the cartels are spying on soldiers to figure out how to bypass them. Commanders have the authority to shoot down any drone deemed to be hostile to U.S. troops, a step they have not yet taken. 'This is a real-world mission with real consequences,' said Lt. Col. Chad Campbell, the commander of the Stryker battalion stationed outside El Paso. Indeed, two Marines were killed and another was critically injured in a vehicle accident near Santa Teresa, N.M., a few miles from El Paso. Pentagon leaders have previously been lukewarm at best about using troops to seal the border, calling such efforts the beginning of a slippery slope that could pull the military into domestic political issues. In Mr. Trump's first term, both of his defense secretaries wanted to avoid deploying troops to the border and, if they could not, to minimize their presence there. Mr. Trump's first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, tried to protect troops from any perception that they might be engaging in partisan political activity. In April 2018, Mr. Mattis responded to the president's initial demand for a military deployment by sending 2,100 unarmed National Guard troops. That was not much different from past deployments of National Guard soldiers to the border. Later that year, in the run-up to the midterm vote in 2018, Mr. Trump ordered that troops be deployed to the border to help deal with an approaching migrant caravan. The president asked for 10,000 troops, then 15,000. Mr. Mattis responded by sending 6,000 and told them to stick to support roles. The military announced that the border mission would be called Operation Faithful Patriot. But on Election Day, Mr. Mattis told officials to drop the name, and the Pentagon sent out a terse news release saying that the operation from then would be known simply as border support. The term 'faithful patriot,' officials said, had political overtones. Mr. Mattis's successor as defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, knocked back a White House proposal in the spring of 2020 to send 250,000 troops to the border. There are plenty of examples in which the military has been used for domestic purposes. With the exception of what experts call the 'feel good' stuff like natural disaster relief, the military has 'come away from those instances saying, 'Yeah, we don't want to do that again,'' said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University and an expert on civil-military relations. 'The military prefers to orient itself towards foreign adversaries,' Mr. Feaver said. 'It prefers to have other branches of the government, to include other security sectors like police, border police, homeland security, who train for and are optimized for domestic missions — have them do it.'
