US Will Have Over Two Times As Many Troops On The Southern Border Than In Iraq, Syria

US Will Have Over Two Times As Many Troops On The Southern Border Than In Iraq, Syria

Jennie Taer on October 11, 2022

The Biden administration will deploy more than double the number of troops than it has in Iraq and Syria to the U.S.-Mexico border amid a record-breaking surge in migrant encounters, a U.S. National Guard spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

On July 8, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin authorized the deployment of 2,500 service members as requested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “to provide infrastructure, operational, detection and monitoring, and aviation support to CBP [Customs and Border Protection],” a spokesperson for the National Guard told the DCNF, adding that the deployment is ongoing.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed Texas National Guard troops to the border in July 2021 and recently reduced the original deployment to around 5,000, The Dallas Morning News reported in September.

It is unclear how many troops have been deployed at this point as a result of Austin’s authorization.

The U.S. has 2,500 service members in Iraq, according to Military Times. There are also around 900 troops in Syria, according to Reuters.

There have been record migrant encounters at the southern border, with over 2,000,000 in fiscal year 2022, under President Joe Biden, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Despite the surge, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed in September that the border is “secure.”

On Biden’s first day in office, his DHS implemented a 100-day moratorium on deportations. It also limited deportations thereafter to threats to national security, border security and public safety.

The Biden administration also ended “Remain in Mexico,” a policy forcing certain illegal migrants to await immigration court proceedings in Mexico, in August.

Then-President Donald Trump also deployed over 3,000 soldiers to address border security.