Washington: The Pentagon is deploying approximately 3,000 additional active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border as President Donald Trump intensifies efforts to curb illegal immigration and fulfill a key campaign promise, US officials announced on Saturday. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the deployment of elements from a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion for this mission, as stated by the Pentagon.

According to Qatar News Agency, the newly assigned forces are expected to arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the upcoming weeks. Although the Defense Department’s statement did not specify the exact size of the deployment, officials have estimated it to be around 3,000 troops. These troops will join the existing contingent of approximately 9,200 US troops already stationed at the southern border, which includes 4,200 deployed under federal orders and about 5,000 National Guard troops under the command of state governors.

The Strykers, which are medium-armored wheeled personnel carriers, will play a significant role in the mission. The Pentagon stated that the additional troops are intended to “reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States.”