Soldiers from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, move to a patrol base near Tucson, Ariz., May 11, 2025, as part of the border security mission. (Remoi Brown/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — More than 1,100 troops have been approved to deploy to the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Northern Command announced Thursday.
Some of the duties for the approximately 1,115 service members with Joint Task Force-Southern Border will include coordinating logistics, providing food and water to personnel in the field and constructing mobility routes and force protection infrastructure, NORTHCOM said in a statement.
There are now more than 10,000 military troops — including active-duty soldiers and Marines and National Guard forces — stationed along the border to assist Border Patrol officers. Those troops include infantry forces with Stryker combat vehicles, troops that fly drones and helicopters, logisticians and engineering forces. Navy ships also are part of the border mission.
The Department of Homeland Security announced last week it has requested 20,000 National Guard troops to bolster efforts to remove undocumented migrants from the United States.
National Guard forces have long been mobilized to conduct domestic operations, including disaster response and aiding other federal agencies, including Homeland Security — especially at the U.S.-Mexico border where they have operated since 2018. It remains unclear how the latest Guard troops could be used.
Since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, his administration has made the crackdown on undocumented migrants one of its highest priorities.
Under Trump’s orders, the Pentagon has surged thousands of active-duty troops to the U.S. southern border and declared large swaths of border-adjacent land in New Mexico and Texas as military installations to increase its authorities to arrest and charge people caught crossing the border illegally.
The personnel announced Thursday include:
•65 Joint Individual Augmentees from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force to fill in at Joint Task Force-Southern Border headquarters.
•250 soldiers from an Expeditionary Sustainment Command will coordinate logistics and manage sustainment requirements.
•140 soldiers from a Quartermaster Field Feeding Company will provide field feeding support to deployed personnel.
•125 soldiers from an Engineer Brigade Headquarters and 145 soldiers from an Engineer Battalion will coordinate and execute construction missions.
•310 soldiers from two Engineer Construction Companies will construct mobility routes, force protection infrastructure and mission-critical facilities.
•75 soldiers from a Medical Area Support Company will provide health resources.
•Five airmen from an Air Force Logistics Support Element from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., will coordinate rapid logistics and sustainment planning.
