The Pentagon is removing 1,100 active duty military troops from the southern border after deploying additional troops earlier this year in preparation for the end of Title 42 restrictions.
According to The Associated Press, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the military to deploy 1,500 active duty members to the southern border in May for a 90-day period in response to the migration surge that accompanied the end of Title 42 asylum prohibitions.
The 90-day mission will conclude on Aug. 8 for 1,100 active duty troops on the southern border, while 400 remaining troops will stay at the border until the end of August, according to an anonymous defense official.
While the additional military presence at the border will be removed by the end of August, National Guard Chief Gen. Dan Hokanson said the Pentagon’s movements will not impact the additional 2,300 National Guard troops that have been deployed to the southern border.
Other National Guard units are expected to replace the current troops at the end of the deployment term.
READ MORE: Fake Border Patrol truck caught in brazen smuggling operation
Just prior to the expiration of Title 42, Border Patrol agents were encountering 10,000 illegal immigrants each day. The Associated Press reported that at one point Border Patrol had custody of 27,000 migrants.
When the Department of Defense authorized the deployment of 1,500 active duty military members, Biden administration officials emphasized that the troops would not be on the front lines of the border or have interactions with illegal immigrants.
Instead, the additional personnel were intended to allow Customs and Border Protection to deploy more agents in the field, while military members covered responsibilities such as warehouse support and data entry, according to The Associated Press.
Elsewhere along the border, a brazen scheme was recently thwarted when American and Mexican authorities intercepted a fake U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) truck smuggling 17 migrants into California.
