SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (Border Report) – The thousands of troops coming to the Southwest border will be a “force multiplier” for immigration agents to finally stop illegal immigration and drugs from coming into the county between ports of entry.

So says Pete Hegseth, the newly confirmed Secretary of Defense, who visited with troops on a border mission in El Paso and southern New Mexico on Monday.

“What President Trump has done – whether it’s Border Patrol, (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or the military – is it’s going to take the handcuffs off our ability to do our job,” Hegseth said after shaking hands with troops and border agents near Monument 3 at the border wall in Sunland Park. “And that allows us to get at the problem in ways the previous administration was not serious about.”

Several hundred troops have landed in Fort Bliss in the past few weeks to join about 2,500 already working on a border mission. Hegseth on Wednesday gave some insight as to what those solders are doing.

“Federal troops … what they do is relieve Border Patrol to have the opportunity to do the interdiction, to do their duty. They are calling their observations to Border Patrol who then interdict,” the secretary of Defense said.

Even prior to the latest deployment, federal troops were monitoring security cameras for the Border Patrol and gathering intelligence.

This was Hegseth’s first trip to the border while in office. He came with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks.

The visitors spent time with members of Joint Task Force Alpha in Fort Bliss, toured the border wall on helicopter, shook hands and took pictures with agents and soldiers at the border wall in Sunland Park.

Mexican cartels still on U.S. bullseye

In a question-and-answer session with reporters near Monument 3 of the wall, Hegseth and Homan spoke of the importance of Mexico’s cooperation with the United States in not only controlling immigration but reining in the transnational drug cartels.

“Think of President Trump wiping the cartels off, disappearing them. What a great gift for the country of Mexico,” Homan told Border Report. “There’ll be less journalists being assassinated, less judges, less politicians being assassinated. It’d be a much safer country. That would be historic.”

Trump on Saturday said he was slapping a 25% tariff on all goods being brought into the U.S. from Mexico. He said that was because Mexico needs to do more to stop migrants and fentanyl from reaching the United States.

Trump on Monday postponed the tariffs until March 1, after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo supposedly promised to send 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to the media while visiting the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park, N.M., Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Mexico in the past has sent thousands of troops to Juarez, Nuevo Laredo and other border cities. The drug violence and the trafficking of drugs to the United States has continued regardless, according to Mexican news reports and U.S. drug seizure statistics.

Hegseth said he welcomed the Mexican troop deployment, but emphasized the United States will still keep all of its options on the table.

“I know (Trump) is in constant contact with the president of Mexico. I had an opportunity to talk to their head of Defense and Navy,” Hegseth said. “We want them to secure their own territory and sovereignty, but we reserve the right – should there not be an ability to police international and violent cartels – to protect our own sovereignty as well. We hope Mexico will step up. We expect they will.”

When asked for specifics as to what that means, the Secretary of Defense said it would be “silly” to tip his hand and that the troops’ current mission is to assist in not allowing illegal immigration into the country, especially gang members or enemies.

Border Patrol Chief Banks said the agents who have been dealing with the migrant crisis for years welcome the military’s help.

“The level of (Department of Defense) support we have right now is unprecedented and we’re absolutely thankful for it,” he said. ”It’s going to help us rebuild and as we rebuild, we’ll be able to slowly downsize” the number of soldiers on the border mission.