Trump sends troops to border
UNITED STATES: Asserting that the situation has reached ‘‘a point of crisis’’, US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation directing the deployment of the National Guard to the US-Mexico border to fight illegal immigration.
‘‘The lawlessness that continues at our southern border is fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security and sovereignty of the American people,’’ Trump wrote in a memo authorising the move yesterday, adding that his administration had ‘‘no choice but to act’’.
The announcement came hours after Trump pledged ‘‘strong action’’ on immigration, and a day after he said he wanted to use the US military to secure the southern border until his long-promised border wall is erected.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she had been in touch with the governors of the southwest border states and had been working with them to develop agreements that would oversee where and how many National Guardsmen would be deployed. She suggested that some troops could begin arriving as soon as today, though other administration officials said the details were still being worked out.
Trump has been frustrated by slow action on building his ‘‘big, beautiful wall’’ along the southern border – the signature promise of his campaign – as well as a recent increase in illegal border crossings, which had plunged during the early months of his presidency. A government spending bill he grudgingly signed last month includes far less money for the wall than he had hoped for.
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 Mexican border to bolster security and assist with surveillance and other support.
Nielsen said the effort would be similar to a 2006 operation in which President George W Bush deployed troops to help US Customs and Border Protection personnel with non-law enforcement duties while additional border agents were hired and trained. President Barack Obama also sent about 1200 troops in 2010 to beef up efforts against drug smuggling and illegal immigration.
Nielsen said her department had developed a list of locations where it would like assistance, and was discussing with the governors how to put the plans into action. She declined to say how many personnel would be needed or how much the operation would cost.
One congressional aide said lawmakers anticipated that 300 to 1200 troops would be deployed, and that the cost was expected to be at least US$60 million to US$120m (NZ$82m to $164m) a year. The Pentagon would probably need authorisation from Congress for any funding beyond a few months.
Governors of the four states bordering Mexico were largely supportive of the move.
In Texas, which already has about 100 National Guard troops stationed on the border, Republican Governor Greg Abbott, said Trump’s decision ‘‘reinforces Texas’s long-standing commitment to secure our southern border and uphold the Rule of Law’’.
But in Mexico, senators urged President Enrique Pena Nieto to temporarily suspend cooperation with the US on immigration and security issues until Trump started to act ‘‘with the civility and respect that the people of Mexico deserve’’.
The 2017 fiscal year saw a 45-year low for Border Patrol arrests. But the numbers have been slowly ticking up since last April, and statistics released yesterday show there were about 50,000 arrests of people trying to cross the border with Mexico last month, a 37 per cent increase from the previous month, and a 203 per cent increase compared to March 2017.
Trump’s new focus on hardline immigration policies appears aimed, at least in part, in drawing a political contrast with Democrats heading into the midterm elections. He has also been under growing pressure from conservative backers who have accused him of betraying his support base by not delivering on the wall.