In April thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to the border to help with the influx of illegal crossings. While these troops do not possess any law enforcement capabilities they were able to help in pointing out border crossers for Border Protection officers to apprehend.
According to The Washington Examiner:
The National Guard’s deployment to the southwest border in mid-April has led to 10,805 “deportable alien arrests” of people who illegally entered the United States from Mexico, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman said Monday.
Because guardsmen are military personnel and not law enforcement officers, they cannot apprehend illegal immigrants. But CBP officers and Border Patrol agents apprehended thousands of people that guardsmen helped point out.
The National Guard’s presence also helped lead to the interception of more than 3,300 others who were turned back before they crossed into the U.S., CBP press secretary Corry Schiermeyer said in an email to the Washington Examiner. The Guard’s deployment has also led to an additional 11,686 pounds of marijuana being seized as a result of their work.
There are 1,601 National Guard troops at the border assisting with various surveillance, maintenance, and related operations. That number could tick up considerably if the 4,000 National Guard troops President Trump approved on April 4 are called on in a future request from CBP.
This extra help at the border seems to be working quite nicely. As a direct result, America is safer because of it.