The Defense Department of President Joe Biden is pulling active duty soldiers from the Southern Border despite an unprecedented surge in illegal migrants.

A DOD official confirmed to me that they will be removing 1,100 active duty troops from the border between the U.S. and Mexico earlier this year. This was approved by Secretary Lloyd Austin.

In May, Homeland Security authorized the deployment of 1,500 active duty troops to the Southern Border for a 90 day mission. The government was preparing for an anticipated surge in illegal alien crossings after the end of asylum restrictions related to pandemics.

Initial, border crossings were down, but apprehensions increased in July, causing 400 soldiers’ missions to be extended to the end of August.

“On July 19 the secretary authorized up 400 active duty troops to remain on the [Southwest Border] to support DHS/[Customs and Border Protection] through August 31. This authorization, I believe, was the result of DHS/CBP’s request for an extension,” said a DOD spokesperson to the Daily Caller News Foundation under condition of anonymity.

Biden initially said the troops would be sent to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, but they wouldn’t be doing any front-line work. The president stated that the soldiers were to assist with data entry, warehouse support, ground-based monitoring and detection, and to “free up border agents who need to be at the border.”

Illegal migrant encounters soared to 130,000 in the month of July after the U.S. expanded its entry programs, such as CBP One. The Biden Administration defended itself by claiming that encounters were lower than Title 42.

In public statements, Republican states accuse Biden of failing to repel illegal immigrants.

The National Guard deployment is an attempt to fill in capability gaps including the ability of detection and monitoring from the ground. Data entry and warehouse support are also included.