According to White House and Pentagon officials, 1,700 National Guard troops in 19 states are being mobilized to help with immigration enforcement.
In the coming weeks, the troops will roll out to assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with immigration operations. The mobilization occurs mostly in Republican-led states since National Guard troops fall under the governor’s command.
The Pentagon said Guard members will perform clerical, transport, and logistical tasks, not arrests, but the move comes amid skyrocketing assaults on federal agents.
Deploying the National Guard troops is not related to talks of possible federal intervention to target crime in blue cities, a White House official told Fox News Digital.
However, it coincides with President Donald Trump’s comments in recent days about expanding federal law enforcement efforts seen in Washington, D.C., to other parts of the country.
“DoD announced last month that National Guard troops would assist DHS with clerical support and other logistical tasks for processing illegal aliens at ICE facilities,” the White House official told Fox. “It is separate from the federal interagency crime crackdown.”
Live Fox Now reported that the troop activation, which is planned to run from late August through mid-November, is one of the most significant National Guard activations in recent years.
Troops are set to be deployed in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, Fox News reported, citing documents and unnamed Pentagon officials.
Officials announced the possible deployment of 1,700 National Guardsmen on July 25, per a Pentagon press release that said the military members had been brought under the command of state governors to help the Trump administration with immigration enforcement, Newsweek reported.
Newsweek reached out to several states to confirm the reports. Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office directed Newsweek to DHS for comment about the deployment of National Guard members to assist ICE in the state.
Texas has entered into agreements with DHS that authorize the Texas National Guard to help enforce immigration law and is expected to see the largest Guard presence, according to reports.
“Governor Abbott fully supports using every tool and strategy to aid in the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal immigrants,” Abbott’s press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement to Newsweek.
The Georgia National Guard will deploy 75 of its soldiers and airmen across the state this fall to support the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration, state officials confirmed Monday per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The troops will help with logistic support, case management and “clerical support for the in- and out-processing of illegal aliens at ICE detention facilities,” according to Pentagon officials.
Those duties could include collect personal data, photograph and process detainees, conduct fingerprinting and DNA swabbing so ICE agents can focus on enforcement, Fox News Digital reported.
The use of federal armed forces for civilian law enforcement is prohibited under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. But the National Guard will operate under Title 32 Section 502F authority, which does not apply to Posse Comitatus.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on July 25 that the service status of 1,200 personnel who were already assisting ICE was changed from Title 10 to Title 32, meaning they are under state control, but their duty is federally funded and regulated, Newsweek reported.
He said an additional 500 personnel had been authorized to help with the immigration effort.
“Through active planning and collaboration with our ICE partners, the department determined that specific operational needs may require direct interaction with individuals in ICE custody,” leading to the reevaluation of duty status, Parnell said.
