With a major increase in the number of Central American migrants moving towards the United States-Mexico border in search of asylum, there is reportedly a dramatic increase in the number of troops that will be deployed to the border by U.S. officials. 

Reported by the Wall Street Journal, a total of 5,000 troops will be deployed to the southwest border by the U.S. military. 1,800 of those military members will be sent to Texas, with another 1,700 to be sent to Arizona and 1,500 sent to California.

In a statement from U.S. Department of Defense spokeswoman Laura Seal, planning of the deployment is still underway and it is “premature to speculate total numbers or specific forces.”

Previous estimates of possible troops to be deployed to the border were 800, making the recent news a steep increase.

The expectation was that troops would first be sent to ports of entry prior to being ordered to provide border officials with support. That support would include building tents, providing medical support, along with helping staff command and control centers. 

In some cases, troops have already started to deploy to ports of entry, while most of those deployed to serve in the area until mid-December. 

At this time, nearly 2,000 members of the National Guard are located at the border.

On Monday, it was estimated that 4,000 Central American migrants continued their trek towards the United States. Approximately 1,000 miles separate the group from the nearest U.S. border crossing in McAllen, Texas. 

If migrants travel towards the border crossing in San Diego, the trip could be twice as long. Earlier this year, another group went that route, but only 200 of them reached the border.