Trump sent more U.S troops to U.S-Mexico Border

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Pentagon officials have indicated that the White House administration of Donald Trump has ordered several thousand more troops to the U.S-Mexico border. The acting secretary of U.S Defense Department, Patrick Shanahan said that the new dispatch of U.S troops to the southern border would occur very soon amid a new request from the Department of Homeland Security. It is noteworthy that reports have indicated the demands of Trump for an increased U.S military presence along the border are expected to cost American taxpayers over $600 million.

The Operation Faithful Patriot from Trump sent more than 5 thousand military personnel to the region just before the 2018 midterm elections. It has already cost taxpayers about $235 million. The amount of $132 million issued for active duty troops and $103 million for the National Guard. Pentagon officials have said that the enhanced troop presence throughout the 2019 fiscal year will cost taxpayers an additional $448 million.

The latest deployment could surpass 2,000 troops, officials told Reuters. They said it was unlikely the level of active duty troops along the border would return to the peak of nearly 6,000 in November of last year. Shanahan said during an off-camera press briefing on Tuesday that DHS has asked us to support them in additional concertina wire and then expanded surveillance capability.

He added, “And we’ve responded with, you know, here is how many people it would take, and this is the timing we’d be able timing and a mix of the people to support that”. The renewed military presence in the region arrives as the federal government reopens for 3-weeks of negotiations surrounding border security. The government was closed for 35 days and it was the longest shutdown in U.S history. The president’s demands for $5.7 billion will be added in the next federal spending bill towards building a wall in the region.