Trump administration weighs sending 10,000 troops to border, using bases to hold migrants

Washington — Trump administration officials are considering deploying as many as 10,000 soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border and using Department of Defense bases to hold migrants awaiting deportation as they plan their dramatic crackdown on illegal immigration, according to an internal government memo obtained by CBS News.

In an executive action Mr. Trump signed upon taking office on Monday, he declared a national emergency along the southern border and ordered the Defense Department to provide troops and resources “to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control” of the border. He also instructed the military to help build border barriers to repel migrants.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president had signed another executive order to deploy 1,500 troops to the southern border, where 2,500 soldiers are already stationed under federal orders. Texas and other states have also deployed National Guard soldiers to the border in recent years, including to fortify it with razor wire.

But the internal Customs and Border Protection memo dated Jan. 21 indicates there’s a plan to dispatch “~10,000 soldiers” to help the agency’s mission at the southern border. The Trump administration, according to the document, has submitted an “[u]nrestrained request” for the Pentagon to surge resources and personnel to assist CBP with technology and infrastructure. 

The memo also says the Defense Department “may” convert its bases into “holding facilities,” presumably to help CBP detain migrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally.

Additionally, the memo shows the Trump administration is planning to dramatically expand detention capacity at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is expected to be at the center of Mr. Trump’s promised mass deportations.

According to the document, ICE officials want 14 new detention facilities with the capacity to hold up to 1,000 migrants each and another four able to accommodate as many as 10,000 immigrant detainees each.

During a briefing with reporters, a senior U.S. military official said the 1,500-troop deployment would involve dispatching 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines, as well as helicopters, to the California and Texas border. The official said the troops would not engage in law enforcement, as federal law generally prohibits the use of the military for civilian law enforcement. Instead, the official said they would be tasked with helping CBP and erecting border barriers, to curtail illegal crossings.

The Department of Defense also announced it would “provide military airlift to support” deportation flights for more than 5,000 migrants detained along the U.S.-Mexico border by CBP. Officials said the Department of Homeland Security would offer in-flight law enforcement. 

Mr. Trump’s plans to greatly expand the role of the U.S. military in border enforcement — historically limited to operational and administrative duties — is part of a larger campaign to seal U.S. borders to migrants and asylum-seekers.

The Trump administration has also directed U.S. immigration agents along the borders with Mexico and Canada to swiftly and summarily deport migrants crossing into the country illegally, denying them the opportunity to request asylum, according to CBP officials and internal documents.

Those directions are being implemented in accordance with an unprecedented order issued by Mr. Trump that suspended the entry of unauthorized migrants into the country, based on the argument they are “invading” the U.S. and threatening public health and national security. 

Mr. Trump said he was allowed to take the drastic step through powers in the U.S. Constitution and a law known as 212(f) that empowers presidents to bar the entry of foreigners whose arrival is deemed to be “detrimental” to U.S. interests.

While Mr. Trump made immigration a top issue in the campaign, his administration inherited a relatively calm southern border, with illegal crossings there at a four-year low. Unlawful crossings into the U.S. plunged in 2024 from the record highs in the previous three years due to a Mexican crackdown on migrants. They fell further after the Biden administration enacted restrictions on asylum last June.

Eleanor Watson

contributed to this report.

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