Pentagon Mobilizes Hundreds of Troops to Help With Immigration Law Enforcement

The deployment comes as Trump calls on all federal agencies—including the Department of Defense—to accelerate mass deportations of illegal immigrants.

Marines guard the Federal Building as hundreds of protesters gather in the street in Los Angeles on June 14, 2025. Benjamin Hanson/Middle East Images via AFP via Getty Images

The Pentagon said on June 17 that it will deploy up to 700 military personnel to assist with immigration enforcement in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, in support of President Donald Trump’s call to expand the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

The troops—drawn from all components of the U.S. military and activated under Title 10 status—will support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by providing logistical, administrative, and clerical assistance at detention facilities, according to a June 17 statement from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.

“This support provides critical resources to ICE, freeing up law enforcement personnel to focus on enforcement tasks,“ Parnell said, noting that the troops will not take part in direct law enforcement actions such as arrests. ”The Department remains committed to securing 100 percent operational control of the border.”

The announcement comes just days after Trump ordered his administration to marshal “every resource” behind what he called “the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History,” with a focus on major Democratic strongholds including Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago.

“Our Federal Government will continue to be focused on the REMIGRATION of Aliens to the places from where they came,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, adding that ICE, Border Patrol, the Pentagon, and other agencies had his “unwavering support” to “GET THE JOB DONE.”

The troop deployment is the latest step in Trump’s expanded use of military force in immigration policy since returning to office in January. He previously authorized the establishment of “National Defense Areas” along parts of the U.S.–Mexico border, allowing military personnel to detain trespassers temporarily. Earlier this month, three illegal immigrants were apprehended in one such zone, an Army official confirmed to The Epoch Times.

Trump has also sent thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles following riots that erupted after ICE arrested roughly 100 illegal immigrants in the city. What began as peaceful protests escalated into looting, arson, and attacks on federal officers. Trump has said he is prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act if the violence continues.

“If we didn’t get involved, right now Los Angeles would be burning,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We are not playing around.”

Florida and Texas—two of the states receiving military assistance—are among those with the largest illegal immigrant populations in the country. According to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center, Florida was home to an estimated 1.6 million illegal immigrants, while Texas had about 1.2 million. Louisiana, the third state receiving support, had an estimated 65,000. California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued the Trump administration over the use of troops and accused the president of “terrorizing communities,” had the highest number, with approximately 1.8 million illegal immigrants.

Estimates of the total illegal immigrant population in the United States vary widely, with figures ranging from 11 million to 30 million, depending on the source and methodology.

Although illegal border crossings have plummeted during Trump’s second term, the president has expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of deportations. His June 15 message urged federal agencies to ramp up removals, saying, “The American People want our Cities, Schools, and Communities to be SAFE and FREE from Illegal Alien Crime, Conflict, and Chaos.”