Pentagon sending 1,500 troops to US border; Texas DPS welcomes the help
DALLAS - Two days after President Donald Trump took the oath of office, active-duty U.S. military troops are preparing to head to the southern border.
It’s part of his executive order to combat illegal border crossings.
1,500 troops to the border

What we know:
Hours after being sworn in as president, Trump signed multiple executive orders dealing with illegal immigration.
One order declared a national emergency and another order was to send troops to the border.
The Pentagon is now sending 1,500 troops.
That’s on top of the 2,500 U.S. National Guard and reserve forces already working at the border from the Biden administration.
There are no current active-duty troops there.
What we don't know:
It’s unclear what sector of the border these troops will go to, when they will arrive, or what their role will be.
Previously, the Department of Defense has restricted service members from policing the border. So, it’s not clear if they will be allowed to participate in law enforcement.
President Trump picked Texas Border Czar Mike Banks to lead the U.S. Border Patrol. He may have a say in those decisions.
Texas border crossings

While illegal crossings are still a concern in Texas, those numbers are down.
"The last couple of weeks, we’ve seen a decrease in illegal border crossings between ports of entry. Just as of yesterday, illegal border crossings were down below 1,000. That’s across the southwest border," said Lt. Chris Olivarez with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Olivarez said crossings in Texas are down 87% compared to this time last year.
Lt. Olivarez is encouraged by the news of more troops coming.
"What they do provide is value. And really observing any activity they see on the border. They’re able to operate cameras and sensors. So that provides additional manpower," he said. "The more manpower you have, whether it’s law enforcement, whether it’s soldiers, boots on the ground is what we need. And now that we have more eyes that can actually monitor the border, it’s really going to help us in trying to focus on those criminal threats."
Mass deportations
Another one of Trump’s border promises was mass deportations.
"In the last 24 hours, ICE arrested 308 serious criminals. Some of them were murderers. Some of them were rapists. Some were sexual assault of a child. ICE is doing their job. They are performing excellent in the field, and they will do it every day," the president’s border czar, Tom Homan, said in an interview on "FOX and Friends" on Wednesday morning.
Homan said the goal for Immigration and Customs Enforcement is to prioritize deporting criminals first.
"President Trump has been clear. We are concentrating on the worst first, the public safety threats to national security," he said.
The Source: The information in this story comes from an Associated Press news article, a Zoom interview with Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez, Border Czar Tom Homan's comments on "FOX and Friends," and past news coverage.