Defence Secretary JimMattis is expected to sign an order as early as Thursday sending 800 or more troops to the southern border to support the Border Patrol, according to a U.S. official. The order comes as thousands of Central American migrants continue their caravan trek through Mexico toward the hoped-for, but still far-distant U.S. border. There already are about 2,000 National Guard troops assisting at the border under a previous Pentagon arrangement. But the new troops would be active duty troops, not National Guard, the U.S. official said. Trump earlier this year ordered the deployment of National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border to respond to a spike in illegal border crossing.

Source: National Post October 25, 2018 14:41 UTC