Defense Secretary James N. Mattis has signed an order to send up to 4,000 National Guard troops to to the U.S.-Mexico border but barred them from interacting with migrants detained by the Border Patrol in most circumstances. The order, issued in response to President Trump’s call for using troops to stem illegal immigration, specifies that National Guard troops will assist the Department of Homeland
Security along the border but not perform law enforcement missions and will be armed only when necessary for self-defense. Given the restrictions, it’s unclear if the Guard units will play a significant role in Trump administration efforts to lock down the border. The Border Patrol has more than 19,000 sworn agents, although not all are assigned in the Southwest, and illegal immigration is at its lowest level in decades. READ MORE
