The troops stationed at the border won’t be home for Christmas.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis approved a request Tuesday from the Department of Homeland Security to extend the deployment of U.S. troops at the Mexico border through the end of January.
The secretary’s approval means thousands of troops will spend the holidays assisting Customs and Border Patrol agents deal with caravans of migrants arriving at the border.
The deployment was supposed to wrap up on Dec. 15 and the 5,900 active-duty troops were to return home until the Pentagon received the request from DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
“The secretary of defense has approved an extension of the ongoing Department of Defense … support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) response to migrant caravan arrivals,” Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. “DoD support to DHS is authorized until Jan. 31, 2019.”
Mattis has said the military is ready to provide what help is needed as Trump combats what he has called an invasion of migrants from Central America, many of them seeking asylum in the U.S.
The military has been authorized to use lethal force if necessary but has so far been working on support such as stringing razor wire and transporting border agents by helicopter.
About 2,100 National Guard troops have also been deployed to the border since April to assist.
