More Troops to the Border Impacts Military Readiness, not the Humanitarian Crisis

Washington, D.C.—In response to the Department of Defense approving a request for additional troops to the U.S. southern border, including 1,100 active duty troops and 1,000 members of the Texas National Guard, Human Rights First President and CEO Michael Breen issued the following statement:

American troops do not belong at the southern border. Their presence does nothing to improve our security, in fact their deployment actively undermines it by harming our military readiness. This is a humanitarian crisis, not an invasion, using our men and women in uniform in such a manner makes us less prepared for the real challenges our military might face.

The administration needs to focus on real solutions to what’s happening at the border. The answer isn’t troops, it’s giving the asylum system the support it desperately needs.

Human Rights First notes that the current House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would give Congress significant oversight on when and how active duty military personnel are deployed in aid of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

Human Rights First, in partnership with more than a dozen organizations with refugee and regional human rights expertise, recently released a new blueprint offering concrete steps to manage the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border and to address the damage the Trump Administration’s mismanagement of it has caused.