[FOX] The Trump administration is sending more than 500 troops to the southern border, as part of the ongoing effort there to combat the coronavirus threat by preventing more infections coming into the U.S. interior.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made the request that the Defense Department provide 540 personnel to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations on the southern border. Defense Secretary Mark Esper approved the request, which is currently in place until the end of September.
“At a time when Americans face a profound public health and national security threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that the men and women of law enforcement have the support they need to prevent public health threats from entering the country through our borders,” a DHS official told Fox News.
The request was first reported by Reuters, which noted that the U.S. already has approximately 5,000 troops at the border to conduct non-law enforcement activities.
The request was made in order to help assist in detection and monitoring of activity across the border, but troops will not be involved in law enforcement, officials said. The request was made because of the extra strain that conducting additional health and security measures places on CBP in its border security efforts.
President Trump has made securing the border a top priority of his presidency, particularly since the U.S. has dealt with a crisis at the southern border in 2019 as more than 100,000 migrants flooded to the border each month last spring.