Two Army units from Fort Carson in Colorado Springs have deployed to the U.S. southern border as part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to stop immigrants from coming over the border.
About 150 soldiers from the 569th Combat Engineer Company-Armored and the 759th Military Police Battalion are providing “an immediate augmentation of military active-duty forces” at the border, according to a statement from Fort Carson.
The Colorado soldiers are part of a deployment of 1,500 active duty troops sent out following border plans laid out in a list of executive orders President Donald Trump signed shortly after taking office.
The troops come from 13 Army units in total as well as from two California-based Marine Corps battalions. They all join the approximately 2,500 U.S. National Guard and Reserve forces already working at the border to support Customs and Border Protection.
A press release from U.S. Northern Command says the number of deployed troops “will fluctuate as units rotate personnel and as additional forces are tasked to deploy once planning efforts are finalized.”
“These military forces will support enhanced detection and monitoring efforts and repair and emplace physical barriers (at the border),” the release said.
The 1,500 troops deployed for the border mission are separate from Air Force crews which have been activated to pilot “deportation flights” of detained migrants.
