President Trump is sending hundreds of troops to the southern border for a wide-ranging mission that poses new challenges and raises questions about the military’s role in handling migration, traditionally a law enforcement responsibility.

Until now, troops have mainly supported Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with logistics, detection and monitoring and transportation. But Trump has vastly expanded the role of the military at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The 1,500 active-duty troops heading to the border will work on new tasks like deportation flights and constructing temporary and permanent physical barriers, along with intelligence collection.

Soon after being sworn in, Trump declared the southern border a national emergency in an executive order, allowing him to activate active-duty troops for the effort.

Trump also signed an executive order directing U.S. Northern Command to draft detailed operational plans for the border. That directive came in an order declaring an “invasion” at the border.

The greater role of American troops has sparked questions about what dangers a more involved military will present to migrants and public security.

While a senior military official said troops will not be carrying out law enforcement duties, they also will likely be carrying arms, raising the risk that soldiers trained to kill could fire on migrants.

It’s a major concern for immigration advocates inside and outside of Congress.

“Military people are trained for a very aggressive, bellicose scenario, not necessarily for crowd control,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.),........

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