Pentagon to send up to 1,500 troops to help secure US-Mexico border – officials

Volunteers talk in a tent along a border wall separating Mexico from the US (Gregory Bull/AP)

The Pentagon will begin deploying as many as 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the US-Mexico border in the coming days, officials have said.

The move puts in motion plans US President Donald Trump laid out in executive orders shortly after he took office to crack down on immigration.

Acting defence secretary Robert Salesses was expected to sign the deployment orders on Wednesday.

Dogs near a border wall separating Mexico from the US (Gregory Bull/AP)

But it was not yet clear which troops or units will go, and the total could fluctuate.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made.

The forces are expected to be used to support border patrol agents with logistics, transportation and construction of barriers.