Thousands of military personnel were deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border in the fall of last year. At the time President Donald Trump said their purpose was tobolster security and help reduce illegal border crossings.
According to new reporting from Steve Walsh, soldiers and marines posted there now have little direct contact with migrants. Border Patrol agents are still the ones responsible for active surveillance and making arrests of migrants who attempt to enter the country illegally. Deployed troops are monitoring mobile surveillance cameras and are also occupied with tasks like stringing up concertina wire and painting the border fence.
Host Frank Stasio talks with Steve Walsh, military and veterans reporter for KPBS, about his reporting as part of the American Homefront Project.