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WASHINGTON -- The US Department of Defense is sending about 3,000 soldiers to the southern border with Mexico, the Washington Post reported Saturday, quoting US defense officials as saying.

According to the report, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved the orders on Friday. The forces, including elements of a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion, will arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks.

The new troops will "reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States," the Pentagon said on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump has made border security a top priority. He declared a national emergency at the US border with Mexico on his first day in office in order to comprehensively curb the entry of illegal immigrants.