Troops could spend the holidays deployed to the border instead of heading home by mid-December
.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is reviewing a request Friday from the Department of Homeland Security to extend the deployment of U.S. troops at the Mexico border until the end of January.
The secretary has not yet approved the request, according to the Pentagon, but it will likely mean thousands of troops will spend the holidays assisting Customs and Border Patrol agents as caravans of migrants arrive.
The mission was slated to end on Dec. 15, and the 5,900 active-duty troops were to return home after being ordered by President Trump to shore up the border against an “invasion” of migrants fleeing Central America, many seeking asylum in the U.S.
“Today, DHS submitted a request for assistance to the Department of Defense to extend its support through Jan. 31, 2019,” Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. “This request refines support to ensure it remains aligned with the current threat, the nature of the mission, and CBP operational requirements.”
Mattis will have to sign off on the request. He was traveling to Colorado on Friday and scheduled to speak at a defense forum in California on Saturday.
The Pentagon has reportedly been weighing whether to rotate new troops into the mission, which includes stringing razor wire, ferrying border agents by helicopter, and providing any needed medical care. The White House and Mattis also approved troops to use lethal force on the border mission if necessary.
About 2,100 National Guard troops have also been deployed to the border since April to also provide assistance.
Meanwhile, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has also requested other cabinet agencies send civilian law enforcement officers to assist at the border, reported Politico, which said it obtained a memo outlining the request.
Nielsen has suggested personnel who guard diplomats, patrol national parks, and protect nuclear weapons could serve as CBP personnel, according to the report.
