Troops Deployed to Border Take Over Mobile Security Mission
Troops Deployed to Border Take Over Mobile Security Mission by Robert Moore – Washington Post
… The camera operators make up the bulk of the 2,000 active-duty service members assigned to border missions, military officials said during a briefing Thursday on a remote bluff that provides a commanding view of thousands of square miles of the border region just outside El Paso.
Border Patrol agents would normally operate the 150 truck-mounted mobile security cameras, but they have been moved to other missions to process and care for the increasing surge of migrant families crossing into the United States from Mexico. Customs and Border Protection officials announced Wednesday that almost 133,000 migrants had been taken into custody by the Border Patrol in May, the highest monthly total since 2006.
Military camera operators have assisted in about 13,000 apprehensions since February, and in marijuana seizures totaling about 3,000 pounds. The apprehensions generally are of people looking to surrender to Border Patrol agents, officials acknowledged, and account for about 3 percent of all apprehensions on the border since February…
