They aren’t on the border as a welcoming committee.
Via NBC News:
About 1,000 of the 5,600 troops that the Pentagon says it has deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border are in the McAllen area.
A camp filled with tents and military equipment in Donna is growing by the day. As some troops install barbed wire fencing, others prepare a medical tent.
“One of the most unique things, in my experience, has been the short notice of this,” Cmdr. Sgt. Maj. Matt Howard told NBC News. “Most folks didn’t even know this mission was going to exist.”
Of the deployment ordered by President Donald Trump, 2,800 troops were sent to Texas, 1,500 to Arizona and 1,300 to California.[…]
The troops won’t be able to apprehend any undocumented immigrants. The military said the mission is mostly logistical support for Customs and Border Protection, which includes providing helicopters for transporting agents.
On Friday, the Border Patrol announced it had apprehended a group of almost 100 migrants.
Raul Ortiz, deputy chief of the Rio Grande sector, said his agents have seen more and more illegal crossings over the past few months and detention space in south Texas has been near capacity.
“We have had quite consistently about 3,000 people in custody,” he said.
The troops who spoke to NBC News in Donna said they were focused on the mission, not politics.
“What I tell my soldiers is: We’re soldiers,” Howard said. “We follow orders. We were given lawful orders by the people above us. Let the folks up higher handle that.”
The timetable for the deployment is up in the air.
“Honestly, a lot of it is subjective based on the caravan and everything like that,” said Army Medic Mike Shaver from Florida.