WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. is sending about 3,000 more soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border as President Donald Trump pushes to stop illegal immigration, officials said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion for the mission. These troops will arrive in the coming weeks along the nearly 2,000-mile border.

The Pentagon did not mention the exact number of troops, but officials said it would be about 3,000. Strykers are armored vehicles used to transport soldiers.

Currently, about 9,200 U.S. troops are already at the border. This includes 4,200 under federal orders and 5,000 National Guard troops under state control.

The new soldiers will strengthen border security and help seal the border, according to the Pentagon. Trump wants the military to play a more prominent role in stopping migrants and sending them back to their home countries.

The military has been deployed at the border since the 1990s to help with migration, drug smuggling, and crime. The Washington Post first reported the new deployment.