Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan has agreed to extend the U.S. military’s support mission at the southern border until September at the urging of the Department of Homeland Security.
“DOD is transitioning its support at the southwestern border from hardening ports of entry to mobile surveillance and detection, as well as concertina wire emplacement between ports of entry. DOD will continue to provide aviation support,” the Pentagon said in a statement Monday.
The Pentagon did not identify how many troops would be needed.
Troops were initially sent to the southern border ahead of the 2018 midterm elections in November by President Trump to head off a caravan of mostly Central Americans seeking entry into the U.S. But the troops were only authorized to remain there until the end of the month — unless the Pentagon signed off on a request for more troops from DHS.
Approximately 2,350 active duty troops are already deployed at the southern border, in addition to 2,200 National Guardsmen.
The announcement comes amid a partial government shutdown, the result of a dispute over border wall funding. Trump has called for roughly $5.7 billion for the project in any spending deal that reaches his desk, but congressional Democrats refuse to accept any legislation to reopen the government with that money attached.
The shutdown has impacted several agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, and approximately 800,000 federal workers are not getting paid.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show that the extension stretches to September, not December.
