Pentagon Pulling 1,100 Troops from U.S.-Mexico Border Mission; Biden Admin Withdraws Troops From Border Amid NEW MIGRANT SPIKE; Yuma County Sheriff Weighs In On Troops Being Pulled From US-Mexico Border

By admin On Aug 11, 2023

Pentagon pulling 1,100 troops from U.S.-Mexico border mission”

The Pentagon is pulling 1,100 active duty troops from the U.S.-Mexico border it deployed earlier this year as the government prepared for the end of asylum restrictions linked to the pandemic.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the deployment of a total of 1,500 active duty troops for a temporary 90-day military presence surge at the border in May. At the time, illegal border crossings were swiftly escalating with concerns they’d go even higher after the restrictions ended but instead the numbers have fallen.

The 1,100 troops will conclude their 90-day mission by Aug. 8; the remaining 400 will be extended through August 31, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss details ahead of an announcement.

At the time the troop movements were made public officials stressed that the active-duty troops would not be taking front-line positions on the border or interacting with migrants but instead doing tasks like data entry or warehouse support with the goal of freeing up Customs and Border Protection personnel to be out in the field.

The troops were intended to help back up border officials dealing with the end of Title 42. That rule allowed the government to quickly expel tens of thousands of migrants from the country in the name of protecting America from COVID-19.

In the days leading up to the end of Title 42, border agents were encountering 10,000 migrants a day and at one point had 27,000 migrants in custody. But immediately after Title 42 expired, the numbers dropped sharply to about 5,000 encounters a day, and have stayed low, according to the agency’s data. —>READ MORE HERE

Biden Admin Withdraws Troops From Border Amid New Migrant Spike:

The Biden administration is set to pull troops from the southern border despite a surge in migrant crossings.

An anonymous Defense Department official told the Associated Press that the Pentagon will pull 1,100 troops from the border by August 8. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin first sent the troops in May for a 90-day stint amid the migrant surges surrounding the expiration of Title 42, the pandemic-era rule that allowed officials to turn migrants away. Austin has authorized 400 troops to stay at the border through August 31.

The pulled troops assist with tasks such as warehouse support and data entry, freeing up Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, officials say.

The removal comes as the border sees a surge in crossings, especially in Arizona, the Texas Tribune reported:

U.S. agents made more than 130,000 arrests along the Mexico border last month, preliminary figures show, up from 99,545 in June. Authorities allowed an additional 50,000 migrants to cross into the United States in July, primarily through Biden administration programs allowing asylum seekers to schedule appointments at U.S. ports of entry using the CBP One mobile application…..