Jul 17, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Trump administration sending 2,100 more troops to southern border

U.S. soldiers install barb wire by the US-Mexico border fence.

U.S. soldiers at the southern border in April. Photo: Herika Martinez/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration is sending more than 2,100 additional troops to the southern border, the Pentagon said in a statement Wednesday.

The big picture: 1,000 Texas National Guard and 1,100 active duty troops will be sent to the border, as President Trump's rule requiring immigrants to seek refuge in a 3rd country before applying for asylum in the U.S. comes into effect. The troops will join about 4,500 active duty and National Guard troops already at the border, per Reuters.

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