United States Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was expected to sign an order as early as Thursday sending 800 or more troops to the southern border to support the Border Patrol, said a U.S. official.
Mr. Mattis was responding to a request from President Donald Trump, who said that he is “bringing out the military” to address what he called a national emergency at the border.
The President’s comments in Thursday’s tweet come as thousands of Central American migrants continue their caravan trek through Mexico toward the hoped-for, but still far-distant U.S. border.
Mr. Trump blamed the Democrats for laws he said make it too hard to stop people at the border. He said that those trying to enter the U.S. “will be stopped!”
Mr. Trump had on Monday tweeted that he alerted the military that the situation was a “National Emergency”, but the Pentagon had said that they had received no new orders to provide troops for border security.
The U.S. official was not authorised to speak publicly because the details had not yet been finalised and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The additional troops are to provide what one official described as logistical support to the Border Patrol. This would include a variety of things such as vehicles, tents and equipment.
There are already about 2,000 National Guard troops assisting at the border under a previous Pentagon arrangement.