Pentagon pulling 1,100 troops from border with Mexico

The Pentagon is calling back 1,100 active-duty troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this year, with forces beginning to return to their home bases this week, a defense official confirmed Wednesday. 

The Biden administration in May approved the temporary deployment of up to 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border for 90 days, a decision made ahead of an expected surge in migrants as the government prepared for the end of pandemic-related asylum restrictions. 

Illegal border crossings dropped, however, and roughly 1,100 troops will finish their 90-day mission as of Aug. 8, the official told The Hill.  

The remaining 400 troops will remain at the border through Aug. 31, the official added. 

The Associated Press first reported on the end of the deployments.

President Biden earlier stressed that the troops were sent to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents but not engage in front-line work.

Instead, the soldiers would help with ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry and warehouse support, and work to “free up the border agents that need to be on the border,” Biden said at the time. 

Biden’s decision came as — a policy that allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the border and blocked them from seeking asylum on public health grounds — was set to expire.

Many predicted the policy’s expiration in May would bring on a surge of new individuals looking for asylum, but immediately after Title 42 ended, border crossings dropped significantly — from roughly 10,000 migrants a day to 5,000. 

Those numbers have stayed steady, according to CBP data.  

The active-duty departures will not affect another 2,300 National Guard troops at the southern border. Those troops, who are under federal orders, will remain in similar support roles to CBP. When their deployments end, the National Guard Bureau plans to rotate new units in to replace them.