Troops might guard border
Trump floats plan to station military until Mexico wall is constructed
WASHINGTON – President Trump suggested Tuesday that he might try to put U.S. troops on the Mexican border until his promised wall is built.
Saying he has spoken with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis — “we’re going to be doing this militarily” — Trump told reporters: “Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military. ... That’s a big step.”
But Trump did not elaborate on the plan when asked at a news conference two hours later. “The Mexican border is very unprotected by our laws,” he said, suggesting Congress would need to take up border security.
Lawmakers have blocked funding for Trump’s wall, saying it is unnecessary and likely to be probably would be ineffective.
Sending troops to the border would not be unprecedented. President George W. Bush sent 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border under an agreement with the governors of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in 2006.
Those troops supported the U.S. Border Patrol but did not engage in law enforcement for legal reasons. Operation Jump Start, as it was known, lasted about two years.
Then in 2010, President Obama sent 1,200 National Guard troops to the border in an effort to win Republican support for an immigration bill. Republicans insisted that Obama “secure
the border” before they would vote to overhaul the immigration system.
Now Republicans control the White House and Congress, but Democrats have the numbers to filibuster in the Senate.
Trump has become increasingly exasperated with bipartisan immigration talks, blaming Democrats for not making a deal. And he has stepped up his rhetoric against illegal immigration, targeting asylum-seekers from Central America passing through Mexico en route to the United States.
“We cannot have people flowing into our country illegally, disappearing, and, by the way, never showing up to court,” Trump said. It’s a policy that the White House has repeatedly criticized, calling it “catch-and-release.”
Trump took credit for stopping the caravan, saying pressure on Mexico helped to turn it back. He also alluded to his threat to kill off the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, saying, “NAFTA’s been a terrible deal for the United States.”
The caravan in and of itself “doesn’t irritate me,” Trump said. “The caravan makes me very sad that this could happen to the United States.”