Military To Send More Troops To Border To Stop Entrants With Coronavirus

The military plans to send 540 more troops to the southern border to keep out migrants potentially infected with coronavirus, Military.com reported.

The border deployment is set to begin “very soon,” Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Army North, said Wednesday, the news outlet reported.

Air Force Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said the troops would help the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol "secure against potential COVID-positive migrants coming over the border."

There are currently 5,000 active-duty and National Guard troops at the border, Military. com reported.

Critics questioned the need.

"This health crisis must not be employed in ways that cause more harm," Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union told Military.com.

“What we've urgently sought was immediate clarification on the military's limits in its authorities at the border. We have received no answers."

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