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The Pentagon will deploy an additional 1,000 troops to the southern border, a senior US defense official said Friday afternoon.
The additional forces will bring the total to nearly 6,000 active-duty and National Guard personnel deployed to support the Department of Homeland Security at the Mexican border, a week after President Trump declared the state emergency to release funds for the promise of a wall border.
SOME 5,200 TROOPS DEPLOYING AT THE BORDER
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said Friday that the House would vote Tuesday to reject Trump's national emergency when Congress returns next week. The president promised to veto such efforts to cancel his emergency declaration, which is also challenged in court.
Trump wants to spend about $ 6 billion from the Pentagon budget, $ 2.5 billion from its drug interdiction program and $ 3.5 billion from the military construction bill, to pay for the wall.
For years, it has been a practice to seek congressional approval before reallocating Defense Department funds, said the senior defense official, but also told reporters that congressional approval was not "Not required".
More than 5,000 US active service forces were sent to the southern border in late October, ahead of the mid-term elections, and a caravan of thousands of migrants went to the United States of Central America.
Since then, the mission has been extended twice. Earlier this year, Interim Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan said that US forces would remain at the border until the end of September, due to the painstaking work of lay more than 100 miles of barbed wire and offer support, aviation, surveillance.
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Until now, US troops have stretched about 70 miles of concertina son, said the official.
"We are still putting 140 miles of accordion wire, which is about 30% of the time," added the official.
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