Hegseth, Homan visit Texas to meet troops on border

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday touched down in Texas enroute to the U.S. border with Mexico, his first trip since taking office.

Hegseth, who traveled with White House border czar Tom Homan, first stopped at Fort Bliss in El Paso to meet with troops tasked with fortifying the southern border - a priority for the Pentagon under President Trump.

“Looking forward to meeting our great warriors and seeing the hard work they are doing securing our southern border. We will continue to deliver on this vital mission,” Hegseth said in a post to X.

Since beginning his second term, Trump has declared a national emergency at the southern border and signed a slew of executive orders intended to crack down on immigration. As part of the effort, he has turned to the military to beef up security at the border, fly migrants out of the United States and house them at bases.

Trump also signed a directive last week for the Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prepare a 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantánamo Bay, a facility in Cuba that has been used to house military prisoners, including several involved in the 9/11 attacks. 

Marines arrived at Guantánamo over the weekend to prepare for the expansion, and Homan has said he hopes individuals can be moved there within 30 days.

Trump on Monday said Mexico's president agreed to immediately send 10,000 soldiers to the U.S. border - part of a deal in which Trump will pause for one month his new 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Mexico.