The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it will keep troops at the U.S.-Mexico border to assist Customs and Border Protection agents. Federal troops, primarily National Guardsmen, have been stationed at the border for three years now at a cost of $840 million to the Defense Department. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the request to keep 3,000 troops to the border through Sept. 30, 2022, Stars and Stripes reports. Former President Donald Trump first sent National Guardsmen to the border in 2018.