The Defense Department is sending 1,500 troops to the U.S. southern border in the coming days to help address an expected spike in migration as a pandemic-era border policy expires on May 11.
The troops would not conduct any law enforcement operations, but instead would assist Customs and Border Protection officers with administrative tasks, freeing up CBP officers to handle the migration influx.
In a statement Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III had approved a formal request from the Department of Homeland Security for 1,500 additional personnel.
