Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: 3 things to know about U.S. troops on the U.S.-Mexico border
Posted
February 21, 2025
Views
24,150
Likes
395
Engagement
1.64%
February 21, 2025
24,150
395
1.64%
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4:33Now PlayingPresident Donald Trump has deployed around 3,600 active-duty troops to the Mexico border, hoping to curtail illegal immigration.
As of now, troops are assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in a supportive role, not in a law enforcement capacity, helping with reconnaissance, patrol and administrative tasks. This has happened before: Troops were deployed for similar duties during Trump's first term and under President Joe Biden.
But in one of his early executive orders, Trump ordered the Department of Defense to investigate whether the U.S. military could gain law enforcement status to make arrests and allow militarized deportations without due process.
PBS News' Tim McPhillips spoke with White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López about what troops are doing along the southern border and how their roles could change.
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