Pentagon: 3,750 additional troops will be deployed to U.S.-Mexico border

Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The Pentagon announced Sunday it will deploy 3,750 additional troops to the United States' southern border.

The deployment includes mobile surveillance capabilities and the placement of some 150 miles of concertina wire between entry ports.

Approved Jan. 11 by acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, the troop deployment will last 90 days and will bring the total number of forces defending the southern border to 4,350, CNBC News reported.

"More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country," President Donald Trump tweeted last week. "We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive."

The deployment follows the country's longest government shutdown, which occurred as a result of a standoff between Trump and congressional Democrats over the president's request for $5.7 billion in funding toward the wall.

The 35-day shutdown ended Jan. 25 when Trump signed a short-term spending bill.

Following the reopening of the government, the president has continued to stress the need for a border wall during interviews and on Twitter, using the notion of caravans of asylum seekers traveling toward the United States as evidence.

The military has spent at least $235 million sending active-duty troops and National Guard to the border since October 2017, USA Today reported.