Pentagon deploys nearly 4,000 more active-duty troops to southern US border

The Pentagon announced Sunday the deployment of an additional 3,750 active-duty soldiers to the southern U.S. border, where troops will assist with border barrier construction and aid Customs and Border Protection agents.

What are the details?

According to the Associated Press, the troops will be deployed for 90 days. They will assist with mobile surveillance operations, in addition to aiding CBP place razor wire on 150 miles of border.

Active-duty troops do not physically enforce the law at the border, which is the Border Patrol's job. Instead, they assist in other capacities, such as manning mobile observation posts in which troops monitor for illegal activity on the border and then radio CBP agents if they detect any.

CNN reported that the new deployment allows the Department of Defense to fulfill a Department of Homeland Security request for additional assistance.

More from CNN:

The Pentagon's decision to not reveal the size of the increase during a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday was slammed by the committee's chairman, Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington.

"The Members of the Committee would have been extremely interested in discussing what the 3,500 troops going to the border in response to DHS's latest request will be doing there," Smith wrote in a letter to acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan.

"This is a violation of the executive branch's obligation to be transparent with Congress, which oversees, authorizes, and funds its operations," Smith added.

The deployment will bring the total number of active-duty troops on the border to 4,350.

The deployment comes as President Donald Trump continues to fight for funding for his promised border wall. However, as CNN noted, the new deployment is unrelated to the White House's border security agenda.