US sending another 3,000 troops to the border with Mexico

(Patria) - The Pentagon is sending another approximately 3,000 troops to the US-Mexico border, as US President Donald Trump seeks to curb illegal immigration and fulfill a central campaign promise.

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

The troops are expected to arrive at the border in the coming weeks.

The US Department of Defense statement did not specify how many troops would be deployed, but officials speaking on condition of anonymity said it was about 3,000 troops.

There are already about 9,200 US troops on the southern border, including 4,200 deployed under federal orders and about 5,000 National Guard troops under the control of governors.

Trump is determined to expand the military's role in his efforts to close the border and return detained migrants to their home countries.

Military personnel have been sent to the border almost continuously since the 1990s to help address issues of migration, drug trafficking and transnational crime.