The Pentagon is sending 3,000 additional active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, expanding military efforts to curb illegal immigration and reinforce security operations, U.S. defense officials said Saturday. The move aligns with President Donald Trump's directive to tighten border controls as part of his broader immigration policy.

The latest deployment includes 2,400 soldiers from a Stryker brigade combat team and 500 from an aviation brigade, bringing the total number of troops at the border to approximately 9,200. This force consists of 4,200 active-duty personnel under federal orders and around 5,000 National Guard members under state governor control.

The Department of Defense said in a statement that the new forces will "reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States."

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed the deployment on X (formerly Twitter), writing, "We are dead serious about 100% OPERATIONAL CONTROL of the southern border." The troops will be stationed along the nearly 2,000-mile border and are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

The move marks the second major troop deployment to the border this year. In January, the Pentagon sent 1,500 active-duty soldiers to support operations amid increasing border crossings. The current reinforcement follows an executive order from Trump instructing the military to "take all appropriate action" to prevent unauthorized entry into the U.S.

Military personnel have been deployed to the border intermittently since the 1990s, assisting in migration control, counter-narcotics efforts, and combating transnational crime. However, the scale of the current deployment reflects a significant expansion in federal military involvement in immigration enforcement.

The Washington Post first reported on the latest troop increase, which comes amid heightened tensions over border security policies. The Department of Homeland Security has cited a surge in migrant crossings and cartel-related activity as key justifications for the heightened military presence.

The use of active-duty military personnel at the border remains a contentious issue, with critics arguing that such deployments stretch military resources and risk militarizing civilian law enforcement duties. Supporters, however, argue that the increased presence is necessary to halt unauthorized crossings and ensure national security.