US president Donald Trump ordered 1,500 more military personnel to the border with Mexico as part of a flurry of steps to tackle immigration, his spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
Border security is a key priority for the president, who declared a national emergency at the US frontier with Mexico on his first day in office, and the additional personnel will bring the total number of active-duty troops deployed there to around 4,000.
鈥楶resident Trump signed an executive order for 1,500 additional troops for the United States鈥� southern border,鈥� press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House.
The additional troops include 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines, a senior US military official told journalists at the Pentagon.
The Marines were on call to support operations to counter devastating wildfires in California but were not activated for that effort, so they have been moved to the border mission instead, the official said.
鈥楾hese forces will work on the placement of physical barriers and other border missions. First operations for them should commence within the next 24 to 48 hours; they鈥檙e moving right now,鈥� the senior military official said.
鈥榃e also anticipate there could be some additional airborne intelligence, surveillance and support assets that would move down to the border to increase situational awareness,鈥� the official added.
A senior defence official told journalists the deployment of the additional troops 鈥榠s the initial effort that we can do right away,鈥� saying that 鈥榳e anticipate many additional missions after this.鈥�
Acting defence secretary Robert Salesses said the US military will also assist with flights to deport migrants out of the country.
鈥楾he department will provide military airlift to support Department of Homeland Security deportation flights of more than five thousand illegal aliens from the San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas sectors,鈥� Salesses said in a statement.
鈥楧HS will provide inflight law enforcement, and the State Department will obtain the requisite diplomatic clearances and provide host-nation notification,鈥� he added.
The senior military official said the deportation effort would involve some 100 US military personnel.
Trump has halted arrivals of refugees already cleared to enter the United States, according to a memo seen Wednesday, as he quickly pursues a sweeping crackdown on migration.
Following an executive order signed Monday hours after Trump took office, 鈥榓ll previously scheduled travel of refugees to the United States is being cancelled,鈥� said a State Department email to groups working with new arrivals.
The memo asked the UN International Organisation for Migration not to move refugees to transit centres and said that all processing on cases has also been suspended.
Refugees already resettled in the United States will continue to receive services as planned, it said.
Trump in each of his presidential campaigns has run on promises to crack down on undocumented immigration.