Pentagon to send about 3,000 additional troops to southern border

The U.S. Department of Defense is sending about 3,000 soldiers to the southern border with Mexico, the Washington Post reported Saturday, quoting U.S. defense officials as saying, reported Xinhua.

According to the report, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved the orders on Friday. The forces, including elements of a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion, will arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks.

The new troops will "reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States," the Pentagon said on Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made border security a top priority. He declared a national emergency at the U.S. border with Mexico on his first day in office in order to comprehensively curb the entry of illegal immigrants.