U.S. to cut troops along Mexico border but extend deployment

5,600 troops will drop to about 4,000 under new proposal

WASHINGTON — The U.S. plans to cut the number of active-duty troops along the border with Mexico but extend the unusual deployment for another 45 days, U.S. officials said Friday.

Overall troop levels assigned to assist the Department of Homeland Security with border enforcement will drop from 5,600 to about 4,000 under a new proposal from the agency to the Pentagon.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis was traveling and had not yet signed off on the plan, but the Pentagon has been working with DHS on the request. It is expected to get approval, said the officials.

President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of active-duty troops to the border in response to a caravan of Central American migrants walking north to the U.S. Critics dismissed the deployment as a political stunt ahead of the midterm elections

Most of the troops have been deployed in Texas, far from where the migrants eventually arrived in Tijuana, along the southern border with California. Soldiers have strung vast amounts of concertina wire and transported Border Patrol agents but have not been engaged in any law enforcement activities, as prohibited under U.S. law.

The initial deployment was scheduled to end Dec. 15, but Mattis and other officials had said it could be extended. The new order extends it for 45 days, while still allowing about 1,600 troops to return home.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, said the new DHS proposal “refines” the military support so “it remains aligned with the current threat,” but declined to give details.

DHS issued a similar statement, citing the “ongoing threat at our southern border.”

Homeland Security officials said Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has also reached out for assistance from other federal agencies.

Politico reported Friday that Nielsen requested help from other departments — including State, Labor, Energy, Transportation, Interior and Justice — to determine whether they have law enforcement personnel they can send to the border.

Border security is a top administration priority.