1,500 active-duty troops have been deployed to the US-Mexico border to reinforce the Border Patrol agents. According to Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses, there was a marked increase in helicopter activity to patrol and assist with constructing barriers.
The use of military aircraft to carry out deportation flights is part of the Pentagon’s plan to fulfill Trump’s emergency declaration – marking the first time military planes have been used to transport deportees since President Dwight Eisenhower was in office, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed US official.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the New York Post, “Thanks to President Trump, yesterday Mexico accepted a record four deportation flights in one day! This comes in addition to unrestricted returns at the land border, the deportation of non-Mexicans, and the reinstatement of Remain-in-Mexico. Mexico has also mobilized 30,000 National Guard.”
National Emergency Declared
On Monday Trump declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and restricted refugees and asylum. He described his plan to halt all illegal entry and reduce border crime. And for the first time cartels and organized migrant gangs were designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
