US forces do not plan to invade Mexico, says Vance during border visit

His trip to the small border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, comes on the heels of Trump’s defiant Tuesday night address before Congress, where Trump described his program of arrests and deportations as "getting them out and getting them out fast."

Vance’s words also follow Trump’s move to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

"I'm not going to make any announcements about any invasions of Mexico here today," Vance said. "The president has a megaphone and of course, he'll speak to these issues as he feels necessary. But what designating cartel organizations allows us to do is deploy the full resources of the United States military to engage in serious border enforcement."

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who accompanied Vance, echoed him, saying, "Our objective is to keep the American people safe."

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, also in Texas with Vance and Gabbard, emphasized that he thinks "border security is national security," and clarified what role troops might serve, as they are legally prohibited from performing civilian law enforcement actions.

"The Defense Department has assets that we can bring to bear, not just troops, not just surveillance, not just equipment, but actual planning and capabilities that enhance what Border Patrol is already doing," he said.

Immigration advocates told VOA that the current lull in border crossings, which Vance also touted, might be misleading and criticized Trump’s enforcement-based strategy.

"The ebb and flow of border numbers — under Trump and under [former President Joe] Biden — demonstrate why global migration is complicated, and why we need a full immigration overhaul from Congress to equip America for 21st century migration and to align with our interests and values, not the enforcement-only agenda of this administration," Vanessa Cardenas, executive director of America’s Voice, told VOA via email.

"The reality is that the Trump administration’s immigration policies aren’t making Americans more safe or secure, and certainly aren’t advancing our economic interests or common sense. Instead, they come at a high cost for all Americans and move us further from the real solutions we need," Cardenas said.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Representative James Comer, the Republican leader of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, grilled four big-city mayors on their policies that limit law enforcement’s cooperation with immigration enforcement.

"Sanctuary cities make us all less safe and are a public safety nightmare," Comer said. "We cannot let pro-criminal alien policies in obstructionist sanctuary cities continue to endanger American communities and the safety of federal immigration enforcement officers."

The mayor of Colorado’s most populous city pushed back at lawmakers.

"Americans expect us to do more than point fingers," said Mayor Mike Johnston, who is a Democrat. "They expect us to solve problems. So, if Denver can find a way to put aside our ideological differences long enough to manage a crisis we didn't choose or create, it seems only fair to ask that the body that is actually charged with solving this national problem, this Congress, can finally commit to do the same."

In his address to Congress, Trump asked the legislative body for more funding for immigration enforcement, even as they stare down a mid-March budget resolution.