It’s important to note, as this article does, that the military still has very limited scope for action at the border. People picture our military securing the border the way heavily armed forces might be doing in Hungary, Israel, or India. And really in a lot of countries including, once upon a time, in the United States.

Sadly, not the case here.

But CBP is under enough strain that this ought to help.

The Trump administration is sending more than 500 troops to the nation’s border with Mexico to back up immigration officials as they try to prevent people infected with the coronavirus from entering the US, according to a report.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper approved a request from the Department of Homeland Security seeking 540 military personnel to support Customs and Border Protection operations on the border, Fox News reported late Tuesday.

The troops will help the Border Patrol officers in detection and monitoring activity on the border, but as in past instances, will not be involved in law enforcement, officials said.

The request is to bolster the CBP because of the increased strain on officers in conducting health and security measures. The US already has roughly 5,000 military personnel at the border.

In short, the military won’t be detaining illegals, but will provide some support. 

It’s a start.

The bigger solution would be to have the military actually secure the border. It’s a surreal situation when our soldiers are dispatched to fight in conflicts around the world, in other people’s countries, and some of these missions against Islamic terrorists are important, but at the same time our own border is secured by undermanned and overworked people without the resources they need to stop the invasion.