Pentagon keeps troops at Mexico border at least through end of month

Hundreds of active-duty U.S. troops will remain at the U.S.-Mexico border until at least the start of October, the Pentagon confirmed Friday.   

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Aug. 24 “approved an extension of up to 400 personnel providing support to Customs and Border Protection [CBP] on the Southwest border through September 30, 2023,” Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Devin Robinson told The Hill in a statement.

NBC News first reported on the extension.  

The Biden administration in May approved a 90-day deployment of 1,500 troops to the southern border to support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The move was made ahead of an expected surge in migrant border crossings as the government prepared for the end of pandemic-related asylum restrictions known as Title 42.  

After Title 42 ended May 12, illegal southwest border crossings initially dropped from about 10,000 a day to less than 3,000, though they have climbed back up to about 5,000-6,000, according to data from CBP.

Roughly 1,100 troops finished the initial deployment Aug. 8 and were sent back to their home bases, but 400 troops were to remain through Aug. 31. 

The troops that stay continue to assist CBP agents on ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry and warehouse support, but do not engage in front-line work. 

A DHS spokesperson later told The Hill that the department “appreciates the extension of 400 DoD personnel who are providing support at the Southwest Border. The support personnel are critical so that CBP agents and officers can get out in the field to securely, safely, and humanely manage the Southwest Border.”