The Defense Department has mobilized 700 troops to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
These troops will “not participate in law enforcement activities” but will “provide logistical support, and conduct administrative and clerical functions,” according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. The troops were deployed last week, Parnell said.
The three states have seen several large-scale ICE raids since Trump took office in January and implemented his hardline anti-immigration agenda, promising to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history.”
There are several ICE detention centers in Louisiana and Texas, and local police officers have already started assisting ICE efforts in Florida, the agency announced in April.
Reports emerged Tuesday of raids in southwest Louisiana. Federal and local agents raided the Delta Downs Racetrack, Casino and Hotel near Vinton, Louisiana, about two hours west of Baton Rouge, according to the Louisiana Illuminator. It’s unclear how many people were detained.
There have also been several recent raids in Texas, with ICE agents detaining at least a dozen people in the Rio Grande Valley last week. ICE agents also made 422 arrests and 528 deportations following a week-long raid in the Houston area last month.
ICE also said its agents completed the “largest joint immigration operation” ever in Florida, arresting more than 1,100 people in late April. The agency also made 100 arrests at the end of May in Tallahassee.
The Pentagon’s announcement comes more than a week after President Donald Trump’s administration deployed 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 US Marines to Los Angeles in response to the anti-ICE demonstrations in the city.
California officials then sued the Trump administration, arguing the decision has “caused real and irreparable damage” to the city and the state’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” spending and tax bill would direct $168 billion towards immigration and border enforcement. But that increased spending and other immigration-related costs could cost the U.S. an estimated $1.4 trillion over the next decade.
Even without the bill, immigration spending is on the rise. ICE is reportedly $1bn over budget for this fiscal year, and the agency could run out of money as soon as next month.
While the bill passed the House of Representatives last month, not all Republicans are on board.
Elon Musk, Trump’s once-close ally, publicly sparred with the president over the spending bill last month. But the two could be set to reconcile, after Trump said he’d be open to forgiving the billionaire. Musk also said he “regret[s]” the comments he made about Trump, which included accusing him of appearing in the Epstein files.
