WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US Defense Secretary James Matisse has approved the deployment of US troops and equipment on the country's border with Mexico, US officials said on Friday, bolstering US anti-immigrant President Donald Trump's approach to the United States.
The officials, who asked not to be named, said Matisse's ratification did not include specific troop numbers, which will be determined later.
The officials noted that this was not in itself an "order of deployment".
The Pentagon did not comment on the likely number of troops, but US officials told Reuters the number of troops could be 800 and would be deployed on Tuesday.
The US military said Matisse had authorized the army to provide "customs and border protection capabilities", including engineering support to help build temporary barriers and housing.
One US official told Reuters that some US troops might be called in to help traffic and crowd control on the US side of the border and possibly help control the protesters.
Officials stressed that US forces would not participate in any law enforcement activities, which is prohibited by US law.
