Homeland Security wants border troops until Jan. 31
Pentagon reviewing request for extension
WASHINGTON – A portion of the 5,800 active-duty military troops stationed along the southern border are expected to stay beyond the initial Dec. 15 deployment, but the Defense Department was still reviewing the request Friday from the Department of Homeland Security based on staffing needs.
DHS formally requested the deployment to be extended to Jan. 31 for “the ongoing threat at our southern border,” according to department spokeswoman Katie Waldman. The request is for the number of troops to remain at about 4,000, according to The Associated Press.
But Defense Secretary James Mattis hadn’t approved it by late Friday, according to AP. Staffers from both departments had been discussing the needs for a deployment extension for weeks.
President Donald Trump initially ordered the military deployment in late October when he warned about a possible “invasion” by members of the migrant caravan crossing Mexico from Central America.
The troops so far have mainly built modular barriers and installed concertina wire around ports of entry and transported Customs and Border Patrol officers where needed.
“It comes down to logistics issues right now, primarily – how many miles of wire do they need?” Mattis told reporters Thursday. The areas around the ports are mostly done, but there could be more work around their flanks, he said.
Tensions rose on Nov. 20 when White House chief of staff John Kelly authorized the troops to use lethal force, if necessary, to defend themselves or any CBP agents who came under attack by migrants. That order has been questioned because it followed Trump’s comments suggesting that troops could fire upon migrants if they throw rocks at the troops.
“I told them to consider it a rifle,” Trump said during a White House speech on Nov. 1. “When they throw rocks like what they did to the Mexican military and police, I say consider it a rifle.”
About 1,000 migrants clashed Sunday with CBP officers at the San Ysidro port in California. Advocates for the migrants criticized the use of tear gas in dispersing the crowds.
But Homeland Security officials defended the use of gas as the least intrusive way to deal with migrants throwing rocks and bottles at officers. No shots were fired. The port also closed temporarily.
Mattis said those clashes were with CBP – not the military.
“As far as the use of force, the Border Patrol is using what they believe is appropriate,” Mattis said. “We would be backing them up; they have multiple lines in front of them, so right now I can’t even forecast what would be necessary after seeing the Border Patrol’s response under the pressure that we saw this last weekend.”
After Kelly authorized lethal force, Mattis said Nov. 21 that most of the troops, other than a few noncommissioned officers, weren’t carrying weapons. Troops also weren’t conducting law enforcement or detaining anyone, other than for brief periods when they might pull somebody out of a disturbance, then turn the person over to CBP for arrest, he said.
“We’re not going to arrest or anything else,” Mattis said. “To stop someone from beating on someone and turn them over to someone else – this is minutes, not even hours, OK?”
Mattis said at that point that some troops could be home by Christmas but that others would likely be extended beyond Dec. 15, based on what was needed.
“So some of those troops certainly will be home; I would anticipate they would be,” Mattis said. “But some troops may not be or some new troops may be assigned to new missions.”
The mission at that point was estimated to cost $72 million – a figure Mattis said could rise.
“I am confident that number will go up,” he said.