If President Donald Trump does end up sending 15,000 U.S. troops to the border with Mexico, it could cost the government more than $200 million just by the end of the year.
That's according to estimates from analysts and Pentagon figures.
On Wednesday, the president told reporters the White House would send 10,000-15,000 service members to the border.
At the high end, 15,000 troops is nearly triple the 5,200 initially announced by the Department of Defense, and media outlets have noted it's higher than the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan right now.
The move comes as two migrant caravans make their way north toward the U.S.-Mexico border.
Veterans and Democratic lawmakers have criticized the deployments, calling them politically motivated and a waste of military dollars.
