January 22, 2025 02:05pm ET
Pentagon to deploy active duty troops to the southern border
A U.S. official tells Fox News the Pentagon will be sending 1,500 U.S. active-duty troops to the southern border by the end of the month. The Trump administration is expected to formally announce this afternoon. There are already 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border. They were ordered there in May 2023 during the Biden administration under title 10 authorities and were approved by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and are planned to be in place until end of FY2025, according to a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson.
These 1,500 service members will arrive at different locations along the southern border by the end of the month, the U.S. official said. They will be in the same roles as the service members already there, providing aerial reconnaissance, data entry, training, vehicle maintenance, detection and monitoring, and some other logistical support roles.
It is not clear what specific units are being sent yet.
This is the third announcement sending U.S. troops to the border in the last two years. In May 2023 former President Joe Biden and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request from former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to send an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border for 90-days to assist with the influx of migrants after pandemic era health restrictions ended in May 2023.
And in March 2024 former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved another DHS request for 2,500 service members including national guardsmen under Title 10 duty status.
Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this post.
Posted by Morgan Phillips
