(NewsNation) — The Pentagon is pulling 1,100 active duty troops from the southern border as Customs and Border Protection report an uptick in migrant encounters between June and July.
The U.S. deployed 1,500 troops to the border for a temporary 90-day military presence in anticipation of a dramatic increase in illegal border crossings. Instead, migrant encounters dropped.
Title 42, the provision that allowed the U.S. to turn migrants away at the border to protect the US from the spread of COVID, expired on May 11. CBP reported 171,387 migrant encounters that month. In June, migrant encounters dropped to 99,545.
However, migrant encounters have seen a recent uptick in the past month with 132,744 incidents in July, a 33% increase from June, according to CBP data acquired by NewsNation.
In the days leading up to the end of Title 42, border agents were encountering 10,000 migrants a day and at one point had 27,000 migrants in custody. But immediately after Title 42 expired, the numbers dropped sharply to about 5,000 encounters a day, and have stayed low, according to the agency’s data.
The 1,100 troops will conclude their 90-day mission by Aug. 8; the remaining 400 will be extended through August 31, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss details ahead of an announcement.
The troops deployed to the southern border did not help on the front lines or interact with migrants, but assisted with data entry and warehouse support in order to let CBP officers stay in the field.
As troops get sent back home, New York Mayor Eric Adams spoke about the impact of migrants coming across the border.
“We need to control the border. We need to call a state of emergency and we need to properly fund this national crisis,” Adams said.
The active duty military troops’ departure is also happening as much of the Biden administration’s immigration agenda is subject to court challenges. Last week, a federal judge ruled that an administration rule limiting asylum access at the southern border was against the law. The administration is appealing that ruling, arguing that it’s a key part of their efforts to maintain order on the border.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.