FORT CARSON, Colo. — Two units based out of Fort Carson in Colorado Springs have been activated to the U.S. southern border for immigration efforts following Executive Orders signed by President Trump this week.
Fort Carson released the following statement on Friday:
“The 759th Military Police Battalion Headquarters and the 569th Combat Engineer Company-Armored from Fort Carson, Colorado, will deploy an immediate augmentation of military active-duty forces to the Southern Border to carry out directed missions called for by the President to secure the Southern Border and protect and defend the territorial integrity of the United States. The units will operate under the direction of U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force North.”
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) made the announcement Friday. USNORTHCOM, based at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, serves as the Department of Defense’s operational lead for U.S. forces carrying out Trump’s Executive Orders on the border.
The initial deployment of about 1,500 active-duty Army and Marine personnel is expected to be on the ground by the end of the week. USNORTHCOM said they will help augment the approximately 2,500 service members already deployed to support Customs and Border Protection at the southern border.
Watch what troops at the southern border will be doing on deployment
The soldiers will help with detection and monitoring efforts as well as repairing and placing physical barriers.
Trump pledged throughout his campaign that he would crack down on immigration.
“I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted. And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump said in his Monday inauguration address. “We will reinstate my remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch and release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship has already been halted by a Reagan-appointed judge as multiple states filed lawsuits. The Washington judge called the Executive Order “blatantly unconstitutional.” His order halted the policy for several weeks as the legal challenges continued.
The units involved in the initial southern border deployment come from military installations across the country:
From the U.S. Army:
- Headquarters, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Cavazos, Texas
- Headquarters, 720th Military Police Battalion, Fort Cavazos, Texas
- 401st Military Police Company, Fort Cavazos, Texas
- 202nd Military Police Company, Fort Bliss, Texas
- Headquarters, 716th Military Police Battalion, Fort Campbell, Kentucky
- 23rd Military Police Company, Fort Drum, New York
- 549th Military Police Company, Fort Stewart, Georgia
- 530th Combat Engineer Company-Armored, Fort Stewart, Georgia
- 977th Military Police Company, Fort Riley, Kansas
- 41st Combat Engineer Company-Armored, Fort Riley, Kansas
- 569th Combat Engineer Company-Armored, Fort Carson, Colorado
- Headquarters, 759th Military Police Battalion, Fort Carson, Colorado
- 66th Military Police Company, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
From the U.S. Marine Corps:
- Detachment from 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California
- Detachment from 7th Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, Camp Pendleton, California
“U.S. Northern Command is aggressively bolstering security at the southern border. For initial actions, Soldiers and Marines are immediately deploying to seamlessly integrate with forces already along the border and working together with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection. In a matter of days, we will have nearly doubled the number of forces along the border, effectively implementing the President’s intent while planning and posturing for expanded efforts to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States,” said Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, Commander, U.S. Northern Command.
USNORTHCOM said the exact number of troops at the border will fluctuate and rotate as planning efforts are finalized.
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