US to deploy 3,000 more troops to Mexico border as Donald Trump tightens immigration rules

The US is deploying around 3,000 additional active-duty troops to the Mexico border as President Donald Trump steps up efforts to tighten immigration controls and fulfil a key campaign promise.

Defence secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the deployment of elements from a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion for the mission, the Pentagon announced.

The troops will be stationed along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks.

While the Defence Department’s statement did not specify the exact number, officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly—estimated the deployment at around 3,000.

Strykers are medium-armoured, wheeled personnel carriers designed for rapid deployment and mobility in various operational settings.

Currently, about 9,200 US troops are positioned along the southern border, including 4,200 deployed under federal orders and nearly 5,000 National Guard troops operating under the control of state governors.

The Pentagon said that the additional forces will “reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States.”

Trump’s push for military involvement

Trump remains determined to increase the military’s involvement in his border security strategy, which includes returning detained migrants to their home countries.

US military personnel have been deployed to the border nearly continuously since the 1990s, assisting in migration control, countering drug trafficking, and tackling transnational crime.

The Trump administration has launched what it describes as a major crackdown on illegal migration, involving immigration raids, arrests, and deportations.

Trump on Saturday praised his administration’s border security efforts, declaring on his Truth Social platform, “The Invasion of our Country is OVER.”

"Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants. Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation," he wrote.

Pentagon chief vows action

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth visited the southern border early last month, stating, “We are going to get control of this border.”

He warned drug cartels that “all options are on the table” after Trump signed an executive order in January, calling them a "national security threat beyond that posed by traditional organised crime."

Hegseth also stated that "any assets necessary" from the Defence Department would be used to support “the expulsion and detention of those in our country illegally,” including the US base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Trump announced a surprise plan last month to detain up to 30,000 migrants at the base—a facility infamous for its treatment of terror suspects held after the September 11, 2001 attacks. US forces have detained dozens of people there in recent weeks, many of whom have since been deported.

With AP, AFP inputs