POLITICS: Pentagon sending combat troops to southern border – USSA News

(NewsNation) — The Pentagon has ordered up to 3,000 active-duty troops to the southern border as it looks to increase the United States’ border sovereignty.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved the orders Friday, with 2,500 to 3,000 troops set to be deployed.

In January, the Pentagon sent up to 1,500 active-duty troops to the border, which already had approximately 2,500 U.S. National Guard and Reserve forces on hand.

“As directed by President Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the deployment of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) and General Support Aviation Battalion to reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States, a priority for the President,” a senior defense official told NewsNation.

These forces will arrive in the coming weeks and their deployment underscores the Department’s unwavering dedication to working alongside the Department of Homeland Security to secure our southern border and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States under President Trump’s leadership.”

Mexican National Guard troops are currently patrolling the border in the Tijuana area as part of Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum’s pledge amid tariff negotiations with President Trump.

In an hour-long special airing at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday,  NewsNation will go in-depth on the state of the situation at the border – what’s working, what’s not and why law enforcement on the frontlines say they aren’t letting their guard down.