Article snippet: The mission will involve sending 320 more U.S. troops heading to the southern border to help Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents take care of migrants who have crossed the U.S. border. Defense Department officials described the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) request for more aid for migrants as necessary in dealing with the “humanitarian crisis” at the southern border. Aside from helping to feed and care for migrants, the Defense Department mission will also include busing and transporting border crossers in the U.S. Federal officials made clear that troops will not perform any law enforcement functions: A defense official said, “monitoring the welfare of individuals” means U.S. troops will conduct walk-throughs and check to see if migrants are OK, but are not going to have interaction with them. If any interaction is needed, troops would contact DHS, the official said. DHS is still determining where this support will be needed. The location will determine whether the support would apply to migrant children, adults, or families, the official said. The Defense Department support will be required through September 20, 2019, at an estimated cost to U.S. taxpayers of about $7.4 million. The Pentagon will foot the bill at first, but be reimbursed by the DHS later. DHS’s additional aid for migrants and border crossers comes as the U.S.-Mexico border has been inundated with record levels of illegal immigrat... Link to the full article to read more