Pentagon asked to provide more help on border security

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security has asked the military to provide more help securing the U.S.-Mexico border, a defense official said Friday amid a political standoff over President Donald Trump’s demand for more money to build a border wall.

The acting secretary of defense, Pat Shanahan, has not decided how to respond to the DHS request, but in the past the Pentagon has provided help when asked. At one point last fall there were nearly 5,900 active-duty troops along the border in Texas, Arizona and California to assist border patrol agents and to erect wire barriers. That number now is about 2,350.

The defense official said DHS asked for certain military capabilities, not any number of troops. It will be up to Shanahan to decide whether more troops are dispatched. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the request for assistance has not yet been fully processed.

The troops have been erecting and reinforcing border barriers but are not performing law enforcement tasks or engaging with migrants. Some also have been providing transportation and logistical help as well as medical assistance to troops and to Customs and Border Protection personnel along the border.

Many in Congress, including leading Democrats, have criticized the troop deployments as a waste of money and a misuse of military resources. The current deployment of active-duty troops is scheduled to end Jan. 31 but could be extended.

Separately, there are about 2,200 National Guard troops deployed along the border.