Jan. 23 (UPI) — The Trump administration is considering sending thousands of active-duty troops to the southern border to address illegal immigration, according to an internal memo viewed by multiple news outlets on Thursday.
The memo viewed by CBS News and The Washington Post said the administration had requested to send roughly 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, while a person familiar with the matter also told CNN of the same request.
The requested total would include 1,500 the Pentagon announced it was sending as part of its initial wave of military members on Wednesday.
The Defense Department already has 2,500 soldiers at the border based in El Paso in support of work being done by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, from logistics, monitoring, and vehicle maintenance.
“In short order, [the Department of Defense] will develop and execute additional missions in cooperation with DHS, federal agencies, and state partners to address the full range of threats outlined by the [president] at our nation’s borders,” said active Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement earlier this week.
The Defense Department said on Wednesday that it will provide support in the deportation of 5,000 individuals already detained by Border Patrol sectors in San Diego and El Paso.
“We also anticipate that there could be some additional airborne intelligence, surveillance, and support assets that would move down to the border to increase situational awareness,” a Defense official said.
It is not clear so far where the service members will come from, and sources said some in the Pentagon have pushed back because the number is expected to be taken from other high-priority areas.
In addition to the increase of troops, the memo also stated that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was seeking to increase its detention capacity by opening four new detention facilities with the capability to hold up to 10,000 immigrant detainees each.
It was also seeking 14 small facilities with the capability to hold up to 1,000 migrants each.