Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks Jan. 30, 2025, at the White House in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP photo)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected Monday to visit troops deployed the U.S. border with Mexico about a week after the Pentagon boosted its six-year mission to the region by 1,600 active-duty service members.
Hegseth will stop in El Paso, Texas, home to Fort Bliss, which is serving as an entry point for troops to receive training before moving to a location along the border selected by Customs and Border Protection, according to Joint Task Force-North, a joint headquarters at the Army base.
He is expected to visit “the local area to see the efforts military men and woman are undertaking in support of Customs and Border Protection activities to secure the southern border,” the task force said in a statement Sunday. No further details were provided.
The task force falls under U.S. Northern Command, the combatant command that is responsible for all military work at the border, including the 2,500 National Guard troops that were part of a mission that began in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
On Trump’s first day back in the White House, he signed an executive order declaring an emergency at the border and ordered additional active-duty service members be deployed to “seal the border.”
Because an 1878 law — known as the Posse Comitatus Act — bars service members from serving in law enforcement roles, troops primarily work to support Border Patrol with work that includes detection and monitoring, data entry, training, transportation, vehicle maintenance, warehousing and logistical support.
This includes helicopter support for aerial reconnaissance to help Customs and Border Protection personnel on the ground.
The new orders signed by Trump also direct the Pentagon to provide a report on conditions within three months and make any recommended changes to the plan, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allows the president to deploy the military domestically for civilian law enforcement.
