President Donald Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went to the confederate borderline connected Monday for his archetypal authoritative travel successful his caller role.
The erstwhile Fox News host traveled with borderline czar Tom Homan to conscionable with troops deployed determination to forestall amerciable crossings.
The fig of troops stationed astatine the confederate borderline has doubled since Trump directed the Pentagon to instrumentality 'full operational control' of the ongoing crisis.
Plans are to nonstop a full of 10,000 troops to the border, but truthful acold astir 2,600 Marines and Army soldiers person deployed since Hegseth began implementing Trump's directive past week.
Additionally, 500 Marines arrived astatine Guantanamo Bay Naval Base successful Cuba on Sunday.
It volition beryllium utilized to location and clasp amerciable immigrants being deported from the U.S. until repatriation operations tin instrumentality place.
'It was an grant to conscionable the troops engaged successful securing our confederate border,' Hegseth wrote successful a station to X on with a video of him shaking hands with forces successful Texas.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (left) and borderline czar Tom Homan (right) were briefed during a gathering with troops astatine the confederate borderline successful Texas connected Monday, February 3
Hegseth spoke with troops who were deployed to assistance successful borderline operations arsenic the Pentagon instrumentality 'full operational control' of the migrant crisis
'They are the backbone of our nation's security. Their dedication to work and unequalled courageousness safeguard the freedoms we clasp dear.'
'We volition proceed to present connected this captious mission,' the Defense Secretary said.
Hegseth and Homan spoke with those astatine Army Fort Bliss successful El Paso, Texas connected Monday arsenic much troops hole to deploy.
U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) briefed the 2 men connected their operations astatine the borderline during their gathering successful Texas connected Monday.
'Our work members are mission-ready and hard astatine work,' Hegseth said aft the meeting.
Members of the Marines and Army are tasked with helping ion detection and evasion efforts astatine the border.
They are besides carrying retired deportation flights of migrants being repatriated with their countries of origin.
Homan and Hegseth measurement disconnected a level successful El Paso, Texas connected Monday to shingle work members' hands arsenic portion of the Pentagon chief's archetypal travel successful his caller relation aft confirmation past month
The Pentagon deployed 500 troops to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base successful Cuba to get the situation determination acceptable to location amerciable immigrants and hole them for deportation. Pictured: Marines onshore astatine GITMO implicit the weekend
Trump promised during his 2024 run that helium would transportation retired the largest deportation effort successful U.S. history.
As helium seeks to circular up undocumented aliens wrong the country, agencies are looking for places to location and clasp these migrants until their deportation flights.
Guantanamo Bay is 1 specified country that volition beryllium utilized to location migrants awaiting deportation.
The naval basal is astir celebrated for serving arsenic the situation tract for terrorists and those suspected of connections to plotting the September 11, 2001 violent attacks.