Trump Mobilizes National Guardsmen to Assist With Illegal Immigration and Crime Crackdown
President Donald Trump is mobilizing approximately 1,700 National Guard troops across 19 states in support of his broader effort to combat illegal immigration and crime, according to multiple reports.
Fox News reported Friday that Guard members will be activated in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. The deployments are expected to run from August through mid-November.
1,700 National Guard troops are being mobilized in a federal crackdown, with forces called up to reinforce Homeland Security operations.
The deployment will cover 19 states, where troops will assist federal authorities in a coordinated effort against crime and illegal… pic.twitter.com/5WFv7mHULI
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) August 23, 2025
While the troops will support federal operations, they will remain under the authority of their state governors, Stars and Stripes noted.
A U.S. Defense official told Fox that the mobilized soldiers will play a supporting role in a “sweeping federal interagency effort,” serving both as logistical backing and a visible deterrent. The Guard members will assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with case management, transportation, and administrative tasks linked to migrant processing. Those duties may include collecting personal data, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing, and photographing individuals in custody.
The move comes amid a broader campaign by the Trump administration to tighten enforcement of immigration laws and address urban crime. Violent crime in Washington, D.C., has dropped 22 percent in the past week, according to Breitbart News. The decline follows Trump’s recent executive actions invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which placed the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control and activated Guard forces in the capital.
The latest deployments mark a significant expansion of the administration’s use of the National Guard as both an operational and symbolic tool in addressing two of Trump’s central policy priorities: immigration enforcement and public safety.
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