WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has mandated the deployment of numerous military attorneys to assist the Justice Department in Memphis and along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press this week. These temporary assignments could extend until next fall.

In a directive dated Monday, Hegseth instructed military branches and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to collectively select 48 attorneys and four paralegals from their ranks. These individuals will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys for the Justice Department.

The memo represents the latest initiative to allocate both military and civilian legal personnel from the Pentagon to the Justice Department. This move aims to staff offices situated along the southern U.S. border, where many federal immigration enforcement activities are conducted.

Last month, the Pentagon approved the deployment of up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to temporarily serve as immigration judges. This decision is part of the Trump administration’s broader strategy to intensify immigration enforcement, which has included military deployments to the southern border and various American cities.

According to this week’s memo, the Justice Department has requested legal support in several locations: 20 attorneys for Memphis, where the National Guard has been deployed under President Donald Trump’s orders; 12 for West Texas, specifically in the cities of El Paso, Del Rio, and Midland; and three lawyers along with two paralegals for Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The memo does not specify what kind of litigation the volunteers would be asked to do, but it says that, ideally, attorneys would have “significant experience” in immigration and administrative law in addition to general prosecution and litigation experience.

The Pentagon said in a statement that it was “proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our law enforcement partners, bringing the skill and dedication of America’s service members to deliver justice, restore order, and protect the American people.”

The Justice Department also confirmed the memo’s authenticity but did not provide additional details on the reason for its request or what the attorneys would be doing.

As with the prior request for hundreds of military attorneys to work as immigration judges, it is not immediately clear what impact removing a growing number of lawyers would have on the armed forces’ justice system. The attorneys, called judge advocates, have a range of duties much like civilian lawyers, from carrying out prosecutions, acting as defense attorneys or offering legal advice to service members.

The new request follows a Sept. 26 ask from the Justice Department for 35 attorneys and two paralegals from the military, according to the memo. It wasn’t immediately clear if that number was in addition to the 48 attorneys requested this week.

The AP also reviewed an email that was sent to military attorneys on Sept. 12 that said the Pentagon was looking for volunteers to become special assistant U.S. attorneys in West Texas and New Mexico without mentioning a total figure.

It is not clear how successful the Pentagon has been at getting lawyers to volunteer, but at least some of the services have been making the case to their attorneys through messages like the one sent by the Army’s top lawyer.

“These roles offer unparalleled opportunity to refine your advocacy, courtroom procedure, and functional knowledge of the federal legal system for future use in our military justice system or civil litigation,” Major Gen. Bobby Christine said in an email reviewed by the AP.

Christine said the work would be “in support of national priorities.”

However, Hegseth’s memo says that services only had until Thursday to identify the attorneys and alluded to troops being subject to involuntary mobilization orders.

The Army and Navy did not respond to questions about how many attorneys from their respective services are being sent to the Justice Department. The Air Force directed questions to the Pentagon.

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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.