{"id":47622,"date":"2022-03-24T20:31:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T20:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/03\/24\/border-mission-should-be-a-homeland-security-job-says-head-of-northern-command\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:36:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:36:22","slug":"border-mission-should-be-a-homeland-security-job-says-head-of-northern-command","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/the-americas\/2022\/03\/24\/border-mission-should-be-a-homeland-security-job-says-head-of-northern-command\/","title":{"rendered":"Border mission should be a Homeland Security job, says head of Northern Command"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Four years into the National Guard\u2019s deployment to the U.S.-Mexico border<\/a>, the number of troops assigned<\/a> to the mission has slowly come down, but there have been no indications from civilian or military leadership that there is an end in sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sending those troops home will depend largely on the Homeland Security Department\u2019s ability to surveil the border and prevent illegal crossings on its own. And troops should not be a go-to option for doing that, the head of U.S. Northern Command<\/a> told lawmakers Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think, long term, this is not an enduring mission of the Department of Defense,\u201d Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. \u201cWe need to fully fund and resource DHS to do their mission, and the DoD should be used in extremis times for the support on the border mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are roughly 2,500 [federalized] National Guard troops still stationed along the border, VanHerck said, which is down from a high of about 5,000 in 2019. As part of Task Force Legion they help with surveillance, intelligence analysis and aviation support, so that border patrol can focus on detention and processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd my assessment is for the most part, they\u2019re resourced to where they need to be,\u201d he said, when asked by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona. \u201cThey could have additional resources for observation, detection and monitoring, those kinds of things, from DHS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t