Nearly 200 Marines were deployed to Florida on Thursday to provide administrative and logistical support for immigration enforcement operations in the southeastern state.

This troop deployment is the first of several requested by the Department of Homeland Security to assist its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in the crackdown on illegal immigration, a priority during President Donald Trump's second term.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth authorized the mobilization of up to 700 service members, with additional deployments planned in the southern states of Louisiana and Texas, according to officials.

These Marines "will focus on administrative and logistical duties and are specifically prohibited from having direct contact with individuals in ICE custody or from participating in any part of the custody chain," said US Northern Command in a statement.

Earlier this week, President Trump visited a new migrant detention center in Florida known as "The Alcatraz of the Alligators," which has a capacity of up to 1,000 individuals.

The troop mobilization comes one month after the Republican leader deployed 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles, California, in response to protests against ICE immigration raids.