On Tuesday, President Donald J. Trump stated that he planned to allocate military troops to guard the United States-Mexico border until a border wall can be completed. 

“Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military,” said Trump to White House media on Tuesday. “That’s a big step. We really haven’t done that before or, certainly, not very much before.”

President Trump didn’t offer further details on the number of troops he planed to send or when this plan would be put into action.

Two weeks previously, President Trump signed his $1.3 trillion government-spending bill, which didn’t mention a border wall, but allocated $1.6 billion for border security.

His Tuesday statements to the press come amid a wave of tweets attacking Mexican and South American illegal immigration and suggesting that NAFTA may be used as a bargaining chip down the road.

In the past, President Trump has suggested Mexico will pay for the border wall, whether directly, or through indirect means such as new tariffs and visa fees.