About 250 soldiers from the Oregon and New York state National Guards are deploying to the U.S.-Mexico border to support the federal agencies operating there.

The New York National Guard is sending 188 soldiers from the 104th Military Police Battalion and its subordinate unit, the 442nd Military Police Company, to support the Border Patrol mission aimed at preventing illegal border crossings, according to a service news release.

They deployed in two batches on Sunday and Tuesday on federal orders, and they will remain under federal orders for 14 months, the release said. The soldiers will be based in Laredo, Texas.

The New York troops are bringing military vehicles, including four M1151 Humvees, the release said. They join hundreds of other National Guard troops from the state deployed for federal missions, including some 600 in the Middle East.

In Oregon, about 60 soldiers from A Company, Forward Support Company, 1249th Engineer Battalion, were honored in a mobilization ceremony Tuesday, a separate news release said.

The Oregon troops will support military police operations along the border and operate as two platoons, the release said. While the release did not say where they will be stationed, they will be trained at Fort Bliss, Texas, as will the New York National Guard troops.

A handful of the Oregonians volunteered for the mission despite having recently returned home from a deployment to the Middle East, the release said.

Meanwhile, Army engineers supporting Border Patrol for Joint Task Force-Southern Border have helped the agency close about 1,400 miles of the border since April, the Pentagon said Tuesday.