Bid to halt migrant caravan
US troops deployed at the border limited in what they can do
THE more than 5 200 active-duty troops being sent by President Donald Trump to the US-Mexico border will be limited in what they can do under a federal law that restricts the military from engaging in law enforcement on American soil.
That means the troops will not be allowed to detain immigrants, seize drugs from smugglers or have any direct involvement in stopping a migrant caravan still about 1 600km from the nearest border crossing.
Instead, their role will largely mirror that of the existing National Guard troops – about 2 000 in all – deployed to the border over the past six months, including providing helicopter support for border missions, installing concrete barriers and repairing and maintaining vehicles. The new troops will include military police, combat engineers and helicopter companies equipped with advanced technology to help detect people at night.
Gil Kerlikowske, Customs and Border Protection commissioner from 2014 to 2017, said the military cannot stop asylum seekers who show up at border crossings to seek protection, and that Border Patrol agents have had no trouble apprehending people who cross illegally.
“I see it as a political stunt and a waste of military resources and waste of tax dollars,” said Kerlikowske, who was at the helm during a major surge of Central Americans migrants in 2014. “To use active-duty military and put them in that role is a huge mistake. It is nothing more than pandering to the midterm elections by the president.”
Another smaller caravan earlier this year numbered only a couple of hundred by the time it arrived at the Tijuana-San Diego crossing.
And despite the heightened rhetoric, the number of immigrants apprehended at the border is dramatically lower than past years. Border Patrol agents this year made only a quarter of the arrests they made in 2000 at the height of illegal immigration, when the agency had half of the staffing it does today. The demographics have also drastically changed, from mostly Mexican men travelling alone, to Central American families with children.
Migrants arriving at the border will now see a sizable US military presence – more than double the 2 000 who are in Syria fighting the Islamic State – even though their mission will be largely a support role.
Air Force General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, said at least 5 239 troops were being sent to the border as the Pentagon works to meet requests from the Department of Homeland Security.
“There will be additional forces over and above the 5 239,” he said, adding that number “is not the top line”.
The active-duty troops have been given clear guidance on the use of force, he said.
Generally, US troops are authorized to use force in self-defence.
Still, the large troop deployment will be limited to performing similar support functions as the National Guard troops Trump has already sent to the border. O’Shaughnessy said there were about 1 000 troops already in Texas and set to grow to at least 1 800. The deployments to Arizona and California will follow.