ALPINE, Texas – Military presence along the U.S.-Mexico border is expected to grow in the next few weeks as part of a border security mission, according to a report from Marfa Public Radio.
About 200 troops from Colorado are already stationed in the Big Bend region, and the number is set to increase to about 500 in the near future, Marfa Public Radio reported.
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Army and border patrol officials made the announcement on Friday in Alpine, saying the deployment began on March 13 as part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s broader military push along the border, Marfa Public Radio reported.
Officials said the troops will only be serving a “support” role for federal border agents, emphasizing that they will not be directly involved in arresting undocumented immigrants, according to Marfa Public Radio.
“We will not be actively on patrols,” Maj. Jared Stefani, who is leading the Big Bend area Army battalion, told reporters. “We’ll be at detection and monitoring sites, to provide that information to Border Patrol, to then go out and do their law enforcement function.”
Marfa Public Radio reported the deployment will involve the use of armored Stryker combat vehicles, and some of the troops will be operating near the border inside Big Bend National Park.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order on March 20 allowing service members involved in border patrol to conduct their mission on foot or on-board Stryker armored vehicles, according to a Department of Defense news release.
“The dynamic approach of patrolling allows service members to cover a larger area of the border, affording them dynamic observation across multiple angles and distances,” said Army Maj. Jennifer L. Staton, a Defense Department spokesperson, in the release.
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