Troops ‘legal’: Mattis
Defense Secretary James Mattis on Wednesday defended the deployment of thousands of US troops to the Mexican border, saying the mission was “absolutely legal” and provides good training for war.
Mattis, who visited the troops near the Texas town of Donna along with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, likened the GI’s mission to that of soldiers sent to counter Mexican revolutionary Gen. Francisco “Pancho” Villa in 1916.
“It’s very clear that support to border police or Border Patrol is necessary right now,” the Pentagon chief said, noting that was the assessment of the Department of Homeland Security.
While Mattis visited the troops at the southern tip of Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, migrants in a caravan of Central Americans scrambled to reach the US border some 1,500 miles away in Tijuana.
Several scaled the steel border fence to celebrate their arrival, chanting. “Yes, we could!”
One man dropped over to the US side briefly as border agents watched from a distance. He ran quickly back to the fence.
The US government said it had started work Tuesday to “harden” the border crossing.
Mattis said that within a week to 10 days, the 5,800 active-duty troops will have accomplished all the necessary tasks,