The Department of Homeland Security asked for more US troops to be sent to the Mexican border, according to NBC on Thursday.



The troops would be deployed to add 160 miles of wire on top of the current fencing, the report stated. Troops were first sent to the border in late November and were set to come home at the end of January. If the additionally troops are approved, two US officials told NBC that the troops may not come home until September.









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`; document.getElementById("linkPremium").innerHTML = cont; (function (v, i){ });</s>The Department of Homeland Security has requested more U.S. troops to be deployed at the border to add 160 miles of concertina wire on top of existing border fencing, according to three U.S. officials.

If approved by Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, the addition of troops to enhance the fencing could extend the military's current deployment at the border until the end of September, based on the rate of construction, according to two officials. The military mission, which began two months ago, was set to end on Jan. 31, NBC News reported.

The fencing that is to be reinforced with concertina wire is not new. The troops currently deployed at the border have already added concertina wire at ports of entry in Arizona, Texas and California. The request for troops to add an extra 160 miles of wire was first reported by NPR.</s>WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has requested more U.S. troops to be deployed at the border to add 160 miles of concertina wire on top of existing border fencing, according to three U.S. officials.

If approved by Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, the addition of troops to enhance the fencing could extend the military's current deployment at the border until the end of September, based on the rate of construction, according to two officials. The military mission, which began two months ago, was set to end on Jan. 31.

The fencing that is to be reinforced with concertina wire is not new. The troops currently deployed at the border have already added concertina wire at ports of entry in Arizona, Texas and California. The request for troops to add an extra 160 miles of wire was first reported by NPR.

Construction of new barriers at the border remains a matter of debate between President Trump and Democrats in Congress. The president has refused to approve any spending bill that does not include funds for a wall, which has led to the partial shutdown of the government.

DHS is requesting more military engineers to install the concertina wire, more aviation support to move troops around the area, medical personnel and surveillance equipment, according to two sources.

If the request is approved, the Pentagon will decide how many troops to send and whether they will be active duty or National Guard troops.

The details of who will be deployed and exactly how long they will stay will be discussed at a Friday meeting between DHS and Defense Department officials, according to two sources.

Acting Secretary Shanahan spoke about the "restoration of the fences," and "building out of additional mileage for the wall" during a Cabinet meeting at the White House Wednesday. "The threat is real. The risks are real. We need to control our borders," Shanahan said, adding, "we're doing additional planning to strengthen the support that we're providing to [DHS Secretary] Kirstjen [Nielsen] and her team."</s>Troops To Be Deployed To Border To Build 160 Miles Of Fencing

More troops are expected to be deployed to the southern border to construct or upgrade 160 miles of fencing and provide medical care to a steady stream of migrant families arriving from Central America, according to military sources.

The deployment and fence construction along the California and Arizona borders would be paid for by the Pentagon, from the Department of Defense's discretionary funding.

The move comes as President Trump continues to demand $5 billion from Congress for border security and a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Congressional Democrats oppose the move, and parts of the federal government have been shut down because of the impasse.

The Department of Defense has not been affected by the shutdown.

The Department of Homeland Security made the request for more troops to shore up the border with Mexico.

The request will likely mean the deployment of more forces, including combat engineers and aviation units. There are now some 2,300 active troops on the border and an additional 2,100 National Guard troops.

The active duty deployment was scheduled to be completed at the end of January, while the Guard troops are scheduled to remain until September.

A senior military official said the new request could include thousands more troops and installing the fencing could take months. The Pentagon is now considering which units to send.</s>More US troops will be deployed to the Southern border to "construct or upgrade" 160 miles of fending, as well as provide medical care to thousands of migrants arriving from Central America, reports NPR, citing military sources.

The Pentagon will foot the bill out of its discretionary funding for the deployment and fence construction along the California and Arizona borders with Mexico.

Word of the deployment comes amid a heated battle over $5 billion in funding President Trump has demanded for a southern border wall, which is currently at the center of a partial government shutdown.

The move comes as President Trump continues to demand $5 billion from Congress for border security and a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Congressional Democrats oppose the move, and parts of the federal government have been shut down because of the impasse. The Department of Defense has not been affected by the shutdown. -NPR

The request for more troops to shore up the US-Mexico border was made by the Department of Homeland Security - which will add to the deployment of some 2,300 active duty troops on the border as well as 2,100 National Guard troops. Those deployed will include aviation units and combat engineers.

The original active-duty deployment announced in November was slated to be completed at the end of January, with Guard troops scheduled to remain until September.

According to a senior military official, the new request could include thousands of additional troops, while the installation of new fencing could take months.</s>More troops are expected to be deployed to the Southern border to construct or upgrade 160 miles of fencing and provide medical care to a steady stream of migrant families arriving from Central America, according to military sources.

The deployment and fence construction along the California and Arizona borders would be paid for by the Pentagon, from the Department of Defense’s discretionary funding.

The move comes as President Trump continues to demand more than $5 billion from Congress for border security and a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Congressional Democrats oppose the move, and parts of the federal government have been shut down because of the impasse.

The Department of Defense has not been affected by the shutdown.

Last month Trump tweeted that “the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall” after he said that much of it already has been built.

The president was referring to several hundred miles of existing fencing along the Southern border.

A few days later, Trump repeated his intention to have the Defense Department do the job, saying in another tweet that because of crime and drugs flowing through the border “the United States Military will build the Wall!”

The Department of Homeland Security — which has had to cease some operations, although not border security — made the request for more troops to shore up the border with Mexico.

The request will very likely mean the deployment of more forces, including combat engineers and aviation units. There are now some 2,300 active troops on the border and an additional 2,100 National Guard troops.

The active-duty deployment was scheduled to be completed at the end of January, while the Guard troops are scheduled to remain until September.

A senior military official said the new request could include thousands more troops and that installing the fencing could take months. The Pentagon is now considering which units to send.

With the partial government shutdown now in its second week, Trump made a short and unannounced appearance in the White House briefing room Thursday to press for border wall funding.

“The wall — you can call it a barrier, you can call it whatever you want — but essentially we need protection in our country,” he said.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security has asked the military to provide more help securing the U.S.-Mexico border, two defense officials 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 officials said DHS asked for certain military capabilities, not any number of troops. It will be up to Shanahan to decide whether more active-duty troops are dispatched. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the request for assistance has not yet been fully processed.

One of the officials said DHS wants the military to put up concertina wire as barriers along 160 miles of border. That would be in addition to 70 miles of concertina wire that combat engineers put up last fall. If the new work is taken on by the military, it might require an extension of the current deployment beyond its scheduled end Jan. 31. The official said DHS did not specifically ask for an extension, but it has not been ruled out.

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.

Separately, there are about 2,200 National Guard troops deployed along the border. It is possible that some of those, or additional deployments of National Guard personnel, could be used to perform some of the work requested by DHS.</s>WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security requested more support from active-duty military troops Friday to bolster Customs and Border Protection officers along the southern border, according to two U.S. government officials.

The request is for more combat engineers to install concertina wire and for more aircraft and crews to transport CBP officers. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan must review the request and determine how to provide the assistance. A decision is expected next week, said the officials who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The DHS made the request as a standoff played out between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats about border security and how to respond to a large influx of migrants making their way across Mexico from Central America. Trump insists the situation is a national emergency, but Democrats have resisted wall funding without a more comprehensive overhaul of immigration policy.

Trump initially called for the deployment of troops in October in a step that was criticized as an election-year ploy. The number of troops reached 5,800, but withdrawals began around the holidays as 4,000 troops remained. The current authorization for the deployment expires Jan. 31, although an administration official said that could be extended.

The latest troop request comes during a partial government shutdown that has lasted two weeks and that Trump said Friday could last months longer. Trump has demanded $5 billion, but Democrats who now control the House have refused to provide that much. CBP officers are considered essential personnel who continue working during the shutdown.

Trump has called the southern border "sieve" and said illegal immigration "pours" through it so physical barriers are needed.

Trump met again Friday with congressional leaders. Schumer said afterward that the president was prepared for the shutdown "for a very long period of time, months or even years," which Trump confirmed at a later news conference. Trump asked Vice President Mike Pence, senior adviser Jared Kushner and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to meet with congressional staffers during the weekend to discuss options.

"We're not doing a wall," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader from New York, said Friday the shutdown made the border less secure because CBP officers were working without pay, immigration judges weren’t being hired and a system for employers to check whether immigrants were eligible to work is offline.

“As the president’s talking about making the border more secure, his shutdown is making it less secure,” Schumer said.

More: Exclusive: President Trump vows to send as many troops to the border ‘as necessary’ to stop caravan

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's DHS requests more support from military troops along U.S.-Mexico border</s>More troops are expected to be deployed to the Southern border toto a steady stream of migrant families arriving from Central America, according to military sources.The move comes as President Trump continues to demand more than $5 billion from Congress for border security and a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Congressional Democrats oppose the move, and parts of the federal government have been shut down because of the impasse.Last month Trump tweeted that "the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall" after he said that much of it already has been built. The president was referring to several hundred miles of existing fencing along the Southern border.A few days later, Trump repeated his intention to have the Defense Department do the job, saying in another tweet thatThe Department of Homeland Security - which has had to cease some operations, although not border security - made the request for more troops to shore up the border with Mexico. The request will very likely mean theThe active-duty deployment was scheduled to be completed at the end of January, while the Guard troops are scheduled to remain until September.A senior military official said the new request could include thousands more troops and that installing the fencing could take months. The Pentagon is now considering which units to send.With the partial government shutdown now in its second week, Trump made a short and unannounced appearance in the White House briefing room Thursday to press for border wall funding."The wall - you can call it a barrier, you can call it whatever you want - but essentially we need protection in our country," he said.</s>The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to ask the Pentagon to extend the deployment of thousands of troops near the southwestern border and to send additional troops to erect barbed wire and barriers, CBS News has learned.

The request would extend the military's operation at the border, which is set to end on Jan. 31, and deploy additional engineers to erect 160 more miles of concertina wire. So far, the military has erected 70 miles of fencing.

In late October, the Trump administration deployed more than 5,000 active-duty soldiers near the U.S.-Mexico border to assist the Border Patrol and National Guard units already stationed there. The White House and DHS said the operation was designed to anticipate the arrival of caravans of migrants from Central America, but critics denounced it as a politically motivated maneuver to galvanize President Trump's base ahead of the November midterm elections.

Mr. Trump's rigid stance on border wall funding and Democrats' refusal to budge to his demands have fueled an impasse in budget negotiations on Capitol Hill. The government has been partially closed since Dec. 22 and the shutdown has stretched into the new congressional session, when Democrats took control of the House.

Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis left the administration at the end of the year after Mr. Trump dismissed him prior to his planned departure date in February. Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is serving as acting secretary as the administration searches for a permanent replacement to lead the Pentagon.
The Department of Homeland Security requests more American troops be deployed to the Mexico-United States border in order to add 160 miles of concertina wire alongside existing border fencing.