Hegseth Heads To The Border To Reveal What Active Duty Troops Will Do To Help With Immigration Enforcement

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will visit the southern border on Monday and is set to provide clarity on the actions that active duty troops will perform to help with immigration enforcement.

"Wheels up from Joint Base Andrews on my first trip as SECDEF. Enroute to the southern border to visit our troops and survey operations securing the border," Hegseth said in a publication on X.

Hegseth will also meet with Joint Task Force North to discuss the troops' role, CBS 4 reported. "Whatever is needed at the border will be provided," the official said last month.

"The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of America's southern border, including reservists, National Guardsmen, and active-duty personnel in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of our land, and the directives of the Commander in Chief," he added.

The Trump administration announced in late January the deployment of 1,500 active duty troops to the border. The figure is expected to increase quickly, potentially to 10,000 soldiers, CBS News reported. It is part of an "unrestrained request" for military assistance, including providing additional resources, personnel, and technology to CBP. The memo also discusses the possibility of using DoD bases as temporary detention facilities for migrants awaiting deportation.

The document also lays out plans to expand the detention capacity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying the agency is requesting 14 new facilities to hold up to 1,000 detainees each, plus four larger facilities capable of housing up to 10,000 migrants.

The Department of Defense also announced plans to provide military airlift support for deportation flights. DHS will provide in-flight law enforcement to oversee these deportations.

The move represents a significant expansion of military involvement in border enforcement, which has traditionally been limited to operational and administrative roles.

Texas is also sending hundreds of soldiers from its Tactical Border Force to aid with the efforts. The forces will be deployed to the Rio Grande Valley to "coordinate with U.S. Border Patrol under the Trump Administration to secure the border," Abbott's office said in a press release. Forces will be aided by C-130 planes and Chinook helicopters.

The state's National Guard has also been "granted the power of immigration officials to make immigration arrests" under an agreement between the Trump and Abbott administrations. The measure has already gone into effect, officials said, allowing soldiers to conduct "roving patrols and exercise all the duties of an immigration agent so long as a U.S. immigration officer or Border Patrol agent accompanies them."