U.S. troops are sharing command stations and vehicles with civilian immigration authorities at the southern U.S. border under an emergency declaration from President Donald Trump. A two-star general general leads 7,600 border troops and an assortment of helicopters and drones, and says the military has been freed from menial work to help apprehend immigrants, protect newly designated militarized turf and disrupt smuggling cartels. Legal experts say the strategy flouts a ban on law enforcement by the military on U.S. soil and thrusts the armed forces into a potentially politicized mission. In a twist of fate, immigrants are part of the U.S. fighting forces at the border.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to hire 10,000 employees over five years, echoing a Border Patrol expansion in the 2000s. Pressure to increase hiring can lead to lowered hiring standards along with more attrition, misconduct, and corruption. When the Border Patrol rapidly expanded, arrests for employee misconduct at its parent agency increased to 336 in the 2012 fiscal year from 190 seven years earlier. ICE's expansion follows a bill signed by President Trump, allocating $76.5 billion for detention, hiring, and other uses. Competition for qualified applicants remains stiff, with law enforcement agencies offering large signing bonuses to attract talent.