USA: National Guard deployed to Mexican border /update 2

Event

Approximately 1000 Texas National Guard troops will be deployed to the Mexican border in the coming weeks, in addition to the 250 already on site. Another 338 troops from the Arizona National Guard have also been deployed and New Mexico is expected to send 80. It remains unclear if the governor of California, the remaining border state, will follow suit.

Context

On April 4, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing governors of the four border states to deploy reservist soldiers to assist the Border Patrol with their duties. The executive order follows Trump’s recent failure to secure sufficient funding in the 2018 budget to build his promised border wall. According to US law, the Guardsmen will not be permitted to perform law enforcement duties on US soil, such as carry out arrests; they are expected to offer support services to the 16,000 Border Patrol and 6500 customs officers permanently stationed at the border. The operation is currently financed to run through October 2018.

Advice

Individuals in the border region are advised to keep abreast of the situation and to adhere to any instructions issued by local authorities.