Massive federal help granted for Florida, Texas and Louisiana to handle illegal immigrants: “Critical resources to support ICE’s mission”
Florida – The Pentagon announced that it will send up to 700 active-duty military personnel to help enforce immigration laws in three southern states: Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave the go-ahead for the action. It is part of a larger attempt by the federal government to deal with the increasing strain on immigration systems at the southern border and beyond.
The Department of Defense said that the troops will help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by providing administrative and logistical support at detention centers in the three states. Sean Parnell, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said that the service personnel will not be doing police work. Instead, they will be doing things like paperwork, intake procedures, and other clerical tasks that free up ICE officers to focus on their front-line work.
“These service members, drawn from all components and operating in a Title 10 duty status, will provide logistical support, and conduct administrative and clerical functions associated with the processing of illegal aliens at ICE detention facilities,” officials wrote in the press release.
Title 10 of the U.S. Code sets rules for how the U.S. Armed Forces are organized and used. It also lets the president make the National Guard part of the federal government when the country needs it.
Since President Donald Trump proclaimed a national emergency on his first day back in office, this most recent deployment has brought the total number of active-duty personnel working to enforce immigration and border laws to more than 6,600. It also parallels earlier deployments in California, when Marines were employed in a similar way to help ICE deal with major protests and legal problems over immigration raids.
The Defense Department said that this recent mobilization was part of its ongoing work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“This support provides critical resources to support ICE’s mission, freeing up law enforcement personnel to focus on law enforcement tasks and missions,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Some lawmakers and retired military officials are nonetheless worried about the move. During recent congressional hearings, Defense Secretary Hegseth was asked a lot of questions about whether it was necessary and legal to send troops to the U.S. to help with immigration issues. Senator Patty Murray of Washington and others who were against enlisting the military in domestic matters said it was “un-American” and a possible overreach of federal power.
In a legal challenge currently playing out in federal court, a coalition of retired generals and former military leaders warned against using military resources in domestic political disputes.
The Pew Research Center estimates that Florida has about 1.6 million undocumented immigrants, Texas has about 1.2 million, and Louisiana has about 65,000. The demographic strain on municipal and federal immigration systems has led to calls for additional federal help.
The Pentagon hasn’t given any more details about where or when the deployment will happen, but officials have said again that they are committed to getting “100% operational control of the border.” As immigration is still a major priority of the current administration’s national security policy, the Department of Defense continues to collaborate closely with DHS.
