President Trump said Wednesday he could send up to 15,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, which would surpass the number of soldiers currently stationed in Afghanistan.
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a campaign rally Wednesday night in Florida, Trump said the number of military personnel on the border “will go up to anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 military personnel on top of the Border Patrol, ICE, and everybody else at the border.”
The current number of troops deployed to the border is 5,239, the head of Northern Command, Gen. Terence O’Shaughnessy, said on Tuesday. He said that number would likely grow even larger. A contingent of 2,092 National Guard members are already stationed at the border.
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