(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon says it may send about 300 more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in roles that could put them in contact with migrants. They would thus be granted an exception to a policy against such contact.
Charles Summers, a spokesman for Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, said Friday that Shanahan was expected to approve the proposal.
The new troops would be in support roles such as driving buses with detained migrants and providing meals to them. It would also include Department of Defense lawyers helping to process the migrants.
Summers said the troops would not have any law enforcement role. They would be responding to a request by the Department of Homeland Security for additional military assistance amid a surge in migrants reaching the border.
