US troops arrive at Fort Bliss for training ahead of border deployment
U.S. troops are expected to arrive at Fort Bliss for training before being deployed along the southern border, officials said.
It appears that 1,500 troops are part of this mission, a Fort Bliss official said Saturday, Jan. 25.
The goal is to deploy U.S. military troops along all four border states, he said.
U.S. Marines are already along the U.S. border near San Diego and Tijuana. The Fort Bliss official said it’s unclear right now how the troops that arrived in El Paso will be deployed.
He explained that the troops will be briefed on their mission and receive further training from Customs and Border Protection officials before they are sent to the border.
More: Trump border deportations promises raise Mexico police concerns in Juárez
U.S. Rep Escobar comments
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, commented Saturday at San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso on the arrival of the troops.
She pointed out that these operations are occurring at a time when Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the border are currently at the lowest level in nearly five years.
"It is not new or unusual that we see Department of Defense assets or personnel being used to support border operations," Escobar said. "But it is highly unusual to see this much of personnel used at a time when we are not at a crisis point."
Encounters along the southern border are at the lowest levels, according to the data from the Customs and Border Protection agency. The decrease is attributed to the policies of the Biden administration and Mexico, which has taken a greater hand in blocking migrants from reaching north.
Escobar also commented that the two military planes were utilized Friday to carry out the deportation of 159 Guatemalan nationals, according to the data from Guatemala's immigration agency.
She called into question the use of military assets when flights are already chartered by ICE through private airlines. She pointed out that these deportations are nothing new. In 2024, there were 1564 ICE-chartered removal flights, many leaving El Paso International Airport.
What is new is the use of military resources to carry out these operations and the overall cost of the flights, which she said was three times the cost of the chartered flights.
"For an administration that claims that it wants to focus on government efficiency, this is an egregious waste of taxpayer resources," she said.
"What the Administration is doing right now is performative in many respects," Escobar said. "It is a form of propaganda so that he can tell his base 'look, I am doing exactly what I told you I was going to do.' "
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: US troops to train at Fort Bliss before deployment to southern border