Trump orders troops to Mexico border
WASHINGTON: Asserting the situation had reached “a point of crisis”, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation directing the deployment of the National Guard to the Mexico border to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
“The lawlessness that continues at our southern border is fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security, and sovereignty of the American people,” Mr Trump wrote on Wednesday in a memo authorising the move, adding that his administration had “no choice but to act”.
The announcement came hours after Mr Trump pledged “strong action today” on immigration and a day after he said he announced he wanted to use the military to secure the southern border until his longpromised, stalled border wall is erected.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she had been working with governors of the southwest border states to develop agreements on where and how many Guardsmen will be deployed.
Mr Trump has been frustrated by slow action on building his “big, beautiful wall” along the Mexican border — the signature promise of his campaign — as well as a recent uptick in illegal border crossings, which had plunged during the early months of his presidency, giving Mr Trump an accomplishment to point to when he had few.
Federal law prohibits the use of activeduty 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.
Ms Nielsen said the effort would be similar to a 2006 operation in which former 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 1,200 troops in 2010 to beef up efforts against drug smuggling and illegal immigration.
Ms Nielsen said her department had developed a list of locations where it would like assistance on things like aerial surveillance and other support. She declined to say how many personnel would be needed or how much the operation would cost, but she insisted, “It will be as many as is needed to fill the gaps that we have today.”
One congressional aide said that lawmakers anticipate 300 to 1,200 troops will be deployed and that the cost was expected to be at least US$60 million (1.9 billion baht) to $120 million a year. The Pentagon would probably need authorisation from Congress for any funding beyond a few months, said the aide, who wasn’t authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Under the mechanism the administration is looking to use, the Guard would not be mobilised as a federal force. Instead, governors would control the Guard within their states.
Governors of the four US states bordering Mexico were largely supportive of the move. The office of California Gov Jerry Brown, a Democrat who has sparred with Mr Trump on immigration issues, said any federal request would be promptly reviewed to determine how the state could best offer its assistance.
The Mexican foreign ministry said Ms Nielsen told Mexico’s top diplomat that troops deployed to the border “will not carry arms or carry out migration or customs control activities”.
Senators in Mexico urged President Enrique Pena Nieto to temporarily suspend cooperation with the US on immigration and security issues. In a nonbinding statement approved unanimously on Wednesday, the senators asked Mexico’s government to freeze joint efforts “in the fight against transnational organised crime” until Mr Trump starts acting “with the civility and respect that the people of Mexico deserve”.
Mr Trump first revealed on Tuesday that he’d been discussing the idea of using the military at the border with Defence 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,” Mr Trump said.