In a statement released Sunday, the Pentagon revealed the number of active-duty service members that will be deploying to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to more migrant caravans making their way north.
“The Department of Defense will deploy approximately 3,750 additional U.S. forces to provide the additional support to CBP at the southwest border that Acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan approved Jan. 11,” the statement reads. “That support includes a mobile surveillance capability through the end of September 2019, as well as the emplacement of approximately 150 miles of concertina wire between ports of entry.”
The surge in troops will bring the total amount of active-duty members to around 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 DOD added.
The active-duty components being sent to the border are in addition to the around 2,300 National Guardsmen that are already deployed to the border.
John Rood, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, testified to the House Armed Services Committee last week they and the Department of Homeland Security are tracking three large migrant caravans.
“Current information shows a caravan of over 12,000 people. There are three that we are tracking,” Rood said. “The Department of Homeland Security is tracking en route and one of which is over 12,000 people in the latest estimate.”
