National Guard sent to Mexican border to provide air support, maintenance work, but won’t arrest anyone

National Guard troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border will providing air support to the Pentagon as well as taking on maintenance and infrastructure projects as part of President Trump’s plan to stiffen up border security.

Defense Department spokesman Lt. Coll. Jamie Davis told The Washington Post National Guard troops will be providing the Pentagon with air support through drones and a variation of helicopters as well surveillance systems through cameras and blimps. These troops will also working on road maintenance, clearing vegetation, and other facility maintenance duties.

Davis explained the mission as a support role for the Department of Homeland Security and therefore they will not be arresting migrants crossing the border or conducting armed patrols.

“National Guard personnel will only be armed for their own self-protection to the extent required by the circumstances of the mission they are performing,” he noted.

Over the weekend, Trump called for the deployment of the additional National Guard troops to the southern border in hopes of meeting his campaign promise to tighten up border security as he awaits the construction of his physical border wall.

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