More troops to block migrant caravan
Trump tweets he’s ‘bringing out the military’ to protect border in ‘national emergency’
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is sending 800 or more additional troops to the southwest border of the US in response to President Donald Trump’s vow to use the military to block a caravan of Central American migrants from entering the country, a US official said.
Defence Secretary James N. Mattis was expected to sign an order yesterday dispatching the troops.
They would be limited to providing logistical support to the Border Patrol, which would remain responsible for apprehending anyone crossing the border illegally, the official said.
Trump said in a tweet yesterday he was ‘‘bringing out the military’’ to secure the border, calling it a ‘‘national emergency.’’
Trump has seized on the immigration issue before next month’s midterm election, but illegal immigration this year is on pace to be lower than all but four of the previous 45 years.
The military personnel were expected to aid the Border Patrol by building fencing at several key points where it was believed the migrants might try to cross, the official said.
The troops would also assist the Border Patrol with vehicles, tents and possibly medical support, the official said.
The additional troops were expected to arrive along the border from next week.
Pentagon officials said they were still working out where the troops would come from and where along the border they would go. Most of them were likely to be drawn from National Guard units, though some active duty troops might be sent as well.
It is unclear whether the troops will be armed, though Pentagon officials say troops always retain the right to defend themselves.
There already are about 2000 National Guard troops assist ing at the border under a previous Pentagon operation.
Restricting the troops to a support role means they will not violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the federal government from using the military in a domestic policing role. —