The US is sending 5,000 troops to the border. Here’s what they can and can’t do.

“It is completely legal for anyone on US soil to seek asylum, regardless of whether or not they have papers. People who present themselves for asylum at a port of entry — an official border crossing — break no US law.”

“People who cross between ports of entry are committing a federal misdemeanor,” however, though Lind writes that in even in those cases, “the US government is still required to allow them to pursue an asylum claim.”

It’s the people who may be crossing at an unofficial port of entry that the US border agents — and their US military partners — will likely be on the lookout for.

Border agents will be “in close proximity” to the US troops, but will leave on their own to arrest the spotted migrants. The military won’t be involved in actually detaining any individuals.