Impatient for wall, Trump wants US military to secure border

WASHINGTON (AP):

FRUSTRATED BY slow action on a big campaign promise, United States President Donald Trump said yesterday he wants to use the military to secure the US-Mexico border until his promised border wall is built.

Trump told reporters he’s been discussing the idea with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

“We’re going to be doing things militarily. Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military,” Trump said, calling the move a “big step”.

It was unclear exactly how the proposal would work or what kind of troops Trump wanted to deploy.

Federal law prohibits the use of active-duty service members for law enforcement inside the US, unless specifically authorised by Congress. But over the past 12 years, presidents have twice sent National Guard troops to the border to bolster security and assist with surveillance and other support. An official said the White House counsel’s office has been working on the idea for several weeks.

Trump has been annoyed by the lack of progress on building what was the signature promise of his campaign: a “big, beautiful wall” along the Mexican border. He’s previously suggested using the Pentagon’s budget to pay for building the wall, arguing it is a national security priority, despite strict rules that prohibit spending that’s not authorised by Congress.

The Department of Homeland Security and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. At the Pentagon, officials were struggling to answer questions about the plan, including rudimentary details on whether it would involve National Guard members.

But officials appeared to be considering a model similar to a 2006 operation in which President George W. Bush deployed National Guard troops to the southern border.

Under Operation Jump Start, 6,000 National Guard troops were sent to assist the border patrol with non-law enforcement duties while additional border agents were hired and trained. Over two years, about 29,000 National Guard forces participated, as forces rotated in and out. The Guard members were used for surveillance, communications, administrative support, intelligence, analysis and the installation of border security infrastructure.

In addition, President Barack Obama sent about 1,200 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border in 2010 to beef up efforts to battle drug smuggling and illegal immigration.