Hundreds of active-duty US military personnel would continue their deployment to the country's southern border with Mexico through the end of September.
The US Defense Department told NBC News Thursday (August 31) that it has approved an extension of up to 400 troops providing support to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the southwestern border through September 30.
Read Also: More HNGN US News Stories
Boots on the Border
In early May, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the deployment of around 1,500 military personnel to the border for 90 days to support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during the 10,000-per-day surge of illegal border crossings leading up to the lifting of the COVID-19 border restrictions, known as Title 42.
The deployment was supposed to end on August 8, but the Pentagon extended the stay of 400 of the troops until Thursday, while the other 1,100 were sent back to their units.
Prior to the announcement, officials said there was a debate within the Biden administration about whether to extend their tour anew, with some military officials recommending the troops be sent home.
Aftermath of Ending Title 42
In a statement, the DHS said they appreciated the extension of the military personnel providing support at the southwest border, which is composed of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
"The support personnel are critical so that CBP agents and officers can get out in the field to securely, safely, and humanely manage the southwest border," the department's statement added.
The department predicted the numbers of migrant crossings would increase after the abolition of Title 42 on May 12, but have surprisingly dropped to fewer than 3,000 per day.
Since then, they have slowly climbed back up to about 5,000 illegal southwest border crossings a day, according to CBP.
