Troops from Camp Pendleton have been ordered to immediately deploy to the nation’s southern border, Marine Corps officials announced Thursday, Jan. 23.

The 500 Marines and sailors from the I Marine Expeditionary Force will be tasked “to carry out directed missions called for by the president to secure the border and protect and defend the territorial integrity of the United States,” IMEF officials said. The deployment is through the U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force North.

President Donald Trump took office Monday and quickly declared a national emergency at the southern border, directing the Department of Defense to help in addressing the situation.

The troops are part of a deployment of 1,500 troops announced Wednesday by Department of Defense officials to augment troops already conducting enforcement operations in that region, Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said in a statement.

In 2023, about 200 Camp Pendleton Marines and Sailors were also ordered to the border to work with Customs and Border Protection as pandemic restrictions expired and a surge of migrants arrived.

In 2018, about 1,100 Camp Pendleton Marines deployed to the border as caravans of migrants from Central America approached.

Marines then supported the Border Patrol agents by helping build barriers, barricades and fencing. They also worked as medical teams, set up command and control facilities, constructed temporary housing for Customs and Border Protection personnel, and provided personal protective equipment for those troops.

Related Articles