The US-Mexico border is effectively closed off to migrants seeking asylum in the United States within hours of President Donald Trump taking office, an extraordinary departure from previous protocols that has left many concerned migrants in limbo.

Thousands of migrants are now in limbo at the U.S.-Mexico border after President Trump shut down the main legal channel for asylum seekers to enter the country. Many had waited months for immigration appointments,

The US Department of Defense is deploying 1,500 active-duty service members along with additional air and intelligence assets to the southern border to support enforcement operations already underway.

The Pentagon will send 1,500 active-duty troops to the southwestern border by the end of the month, a Defense Department official said on Wednesday, helping to fulfill one of President Trump’s main goals to stem the flow of migrants into the United States.

U.S. officials say the Pentagon will begin deploying as many as 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border in the coming days