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The Pentagon extended the US military support mission along the southwestern border until the end of September.
Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan has also approved a request from the US Department of Homeland Security that officials say 116 miles of accordion wire will be placed between the points of entry. along the border.
John Moore / Getty Images "In response to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) request of December 27, 2018, Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan has approved DHS Departmental Defense assistance until 30 September 2019, "said a Pentagon statement released Monday night.
"The DoD is transitioning from support to the southwest border from enhanced entry points to mobile surveillance and detection, as well as the location of the accordion wire between the points of interest. Entry, "adds the text. "The DoD will continue to provide support to aviation."
The initial 45-day border support mission approved by the then Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, was to end on December 15, before the arrival of migrant caravans. of Central America.
Ariana Drehsler / AFP / Getty Images Mattis then extended the initial mission until the end of the month of January, as migrants in caravans arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, seeking to submit asylum applications at points of entry south of San Diego.
At its peak, no less than 5,900 active-duty soldiers were sent to the border to "harden" entry points by installing safety gates and accordion wires. The mission also included air units responsible for transporting customs and border protection officers along the border and the military police units responsible for protecting them.
Since then, the number of soldiers has been reduced to 2,350 after the engineering units completed their tasks and were sent home.
Representatives of the defense stated that these figures could increase temporarily, as additional staffing would be required to install the 116 miles of concertina son requested.
The authorities indicated that the wire would be placed along existing structures already along the border.
This mission is different from President Donald Trump's plans to build a border wall. Trump's stalemate with congressional Democrats to fund the construction of the wall has resulted in a partial closure of the federal government.
According to the Pentagon statement, until the end of September, the remaining active-duty troops will move to "mobile surveillance and detection."
The news of the extension and mission with accordion wire arrive as a new caravan of migrants must leave Honduras and head to the Mexican border this week.
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