EL PASO, Texas — As President Donald Trump has deployed active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and escalated diplomatic tensions with Mexico and Central American nations over immigration grievances, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to Texas on Monday to visit U.S. military members stationed there. He was accompanied by “border czar” Tom Homan.

What You Need To Know

  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to Texas to visit U.S. military members stationed there on Monday alongside “border czar” Tom Homan

  • President Donald Trump has deployed active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and escalated diplomatic tensions with Mexico and Central American nations over immigration grievances,

  • Hegseth was briefed by military leaders by U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command “on homeland defense and security priorities at the southern border,” he said on social media
  • Trump has threatened to use the military against drug cartels on Mexican soil and declined to rule out using military force to advance his desires for U.S. expansion in Panama or Greenland

  • While Hegseth and the Defense Department have publicly focused their efforts on border security, Trump has also ordered the bombings of Somalia and Syria in recent days

The visit came as immigration enforcement agents have continued to round up undocumented immigrants and the Defense Department has begun preparations for a 30,000-bed facility to hold migrants at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

While at Fort Bliss, on the New Mexico-Texas border outside El Paso, Hegseth was briefed by military leaders from U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command “on homeland defense and security priorities at the southern border,” he said on social media. 

“It was an honor to meet the troops engaged in securing our southern border," Hegseth wrote. "They are the backbone of our nation’s security. Their dedication to service and unequalled [sic] courage safeguard the freedoms we hold dear. We are grateful for all you and your [families’] sacrifice.”

Shortly after taking office, Trump ordered 1,600 active-duty troops to join the roughly 2,500 National Guard and reserve forces already stationed at the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. military has publicly shared footage and photographs of U.S. Marines installing barbed wire on the border wall near San Ysidro, California, Navy sailors assisting in surveillance flights and Army soldiers patrolling the border in New Mexico. Handcuffed and bound immigrants being deported have also been flown out of the country on military flights, triggering anger and outrage in Latin America.

Hegseth, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate thanks to Vice President JD Vance’s tiebreaking vote, has been tasked with leading the U.S. military as it plays an increasing role in Trump’s immigration crackdown. Over the weekend, Hegseth spoke with his Mexican counterpart, National Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, and other senior Mexican military officials. On Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced her government would send 10,000 Mexican troops to help secure the border, as Trump promised to hold off his threatened 25% tariff on the country for a month.

"These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country," Trump wrote on social media. 

The increasing militarization at the U.S.-Mexico border comes as Trump has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies to round up thousands of migrants in the two weeks since he took office and moved to end deportation protections for hundreds of thousands more. Last week, he announced he was ordering the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare Guantanamo Bay to detain as many as 30,000 immigrants. Homan said Sunday he hopes to have the first detainees arrive within 30 days.

During his campaign last year, Trump promised to deport millions of immigrants from the country and said he would use the military and local law enforcement to do so. He has also threatened to use the military against drug cartels on Mexican soil and declined to rule out using military force to advance his desires for U.S. expansion in Panama or Greenland. 

While Hegseth and the Defense Department have publicly focused their efforts on border security, Trump has also ordered the bombings of Somalia and Syria in recent days, targeting members of the Islamic State and the al-Qaida-affiliated group Hurras al-Din, respectively.