The Pentagon announced that it will be deploying an additional 3,750 active duty troops to the southern border of the United States, bringing the total number of military forces at the border to 4,350.
“Additional units are being deployed for 90 days, and we will continue to evaluate the force composition required to meet the mission to protect and secure the southern border,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The soldiers will help build roughly 150 miles of concertina wire fencing and assist with monitoring the border. The troops will operate mobile surveillance stations and vehicles and radio any issues to Border Patrol agents.
As the troops head to the border, politicians continue to fight over border wall funding. President Donald Trump is demanding $5.7 billion to construct a wall along sections of the border, which the Democrats have refused to give him. Their fight forced a month-long partial government shutdown, and if an agreement cannot be reached by February 15th, the government could shut down again.
Trump has vowed to uphold his signature campaign promise and is considering declaring a national emergency to get the wall built.
"It's a national emergency, it's other things, and you know there have been plenty of national emergencies called. And this really is an invasion of our country by human traffickers," Trump said on Face the Nation. "We're going to have a strong border. And the only way you have a strong border is you need a physical barrier. You need a wall. And anybody that says you don't, they're just playing games," he added.
Photo: Getty Images