The Pentagon will soon deploy as many as 1,500 additional active duty forces to the country’s southern border, the White House said Wednesday, following through on an executive order President Donald Trump signed shortly after taking office.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the deployment would help carry out Trump’s promise of a border crackdown. The move comes in the wake of several border-related executive actions Trump has enacted since his Monday inauguration including declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border.
A senior defense official told reporters on condition of anonymity on Wednesday that the troops had already begun to deploy to the border, and would begin operating there within 24 to 48 hours.
The 1,500 troops include 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines, according to the official. The Marines were assigned to respond to wildfires in California, and will now be reassigned to the border, the official said.
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