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The Trump administration is deploying additional National Guard troops to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in processing deportation paperwork, aiming to relieve a backlog and free up officers for field operations, officials confirmed.
The deployment, part of a broader immigration enforcement initiative, will involve Guard members performing administrative tasks such as “alien processing” and detention documentation. According to ICE, the move is designed to allow federal immigration agents to return to active enforcement duties in the field.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that troops will be deployed in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia. The Intercept first reported the scope of the plan.
“We’re engaged with the Department of Defense and we’re figuring out the next steps,” said ICE spokesperson Tanya Roman. She added that final details of the partnership are being worked out between DHS and the Pentagon.
The deployments will take place under Title 32 of the U.S. Code, meaning the troops will remain under the command of their respective state governors rather than federal authorities. This legal arrangement allows for closer coordination with state agencies while supporting federal operations.
The Pentagon confirmed the policy shift, noting that Guard members will replace Marine Corps and Naval Reserve units previously assigned to assist ICE in various support roles. Since taking office earlier this year, President Trump has activated more than 20,000 federal and National Guard personnel to assist with border and immigration enforcement operations across several states, including Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico and Texas.
“Through active planning and collaboration with our ICE partners, the Department determined that specific operational needs may require direct interaction with individuals in ICE custody,” said chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
Roman noted that Guard personnel will assist with a “wide range of immigration enforcement activity in the U.S. interior,” under a plan aimed at improving administrative efficiency within the immigration system.
The increased reliance on the National Guard is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to ramp up immigration enforcement efforts and reduce strains on ICE personnel across the country.
