By Mason Mohon |@mohonofficial

The incoming caravan of immigrants has the political right in a frenzy. The mass of individuals seeking to end up in the United States prior to the midterm elections caused political sparks to fly, and it also caused Trump to deploy 5,000 troops at the border as a defensive measure.

Although talk of the caravan has decreased now that the midterm elections are over, the effects of the political battle still linger. Some are not going back to normal at all. On Tuesday, the Pentagon told Congress that the deployment of troops on the southern border is costing an estimated $210 million.

According to Associated Press:

The total includes $72 million for approximately 5,900 active-duty troops providing support to Customs and Border Protection, plus $138 million so far for 2,100 National Guard troops who have been performing a separate border mission since April, according to a report sent to Congress on Tuesday but not released by the Pentagon.

The current completion date for the deployment of troops on the southern border is December 15th, but if they stay longer, the price will only exceed current estimates.

Many saw Trump’s deployment of these troops as more of a symbolic measure than a practical measure. 5,800 of the troops are currently deployed in South Texas, while the majority of the caravan is just south of California.

This could point to the possibility that Trump’s “defense” against what he described as an “invasion” was just a political ploy to get people voting Republican on November 6th. Now that the midterm elections have run their course, though, the troops still remain, continuing to cost millions of dollars, burdening the American taxpayer.

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