Trump says border troops could reach 15,000, double the number of the Pentagon

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the number of troops deployed at the US-Mexico border could reach 15,000, about double the number announced by the Pentagon for a mission whose dimensions change daily.

The Pentagon said that "more than 7,000" soldiers would be sent to the south-western border to support customs and border protection officials. Officials said that this number could reach a maximum of about 8,000 according to current plans.

The troop numbers have evolved at a dizzying pace, with Trump having set a very low bar on immigration in the run-up to the mid-term elections.

Just last week, officials said about 800 to 1,000 could be sent. On Monday, officials said about 5,200 people were deployed. The next day, the Air Force General who was leading the operation said that more than the initially announced total was unfolding, and he categorically rejected a report stating that he could 14,000, claiming that it "does not correspond to what is actually planned".

General Terrence O. Shaughnessy, commander of the US Northern Command, told reporters that the number would exceed the original contingent of 5,200 people, but gave no estimate of the final total.

Twenty-four hours later, Trump inserts a new uncertainty and surprises the Pentagon.

Looking ahead to next Tuesday's competitions, Trump has precipitated a series of declarations of immigration, promises and actions as he tries to mobilize his supporters to retain control of Congress through the republican. His own Republican campaign in 2016 focused on fears at the border, and that's what he emphasized during the last week of the mid-term fight .

"As for the caravan, our army has come out," said Trump. "We have about 5,800. We will place between 10,000 and 15,000 soldiers in addition to Border Patrol, ICE and all the others at the border."

His comment was the latest twist in a story that has unfortunately pushed the Pentagon into the political arena, raising questions about whether Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was allowing the military to serve as a political coup. .

"We do not do stunts," Mattis said Wednesday.

Trump dismissed the idea that he was "alarmist" or used the issue for political purposes, but his growing rhetoric in the last days of the election campaign challenges this denial. Trump protested against illegal immigration, including several caravans from Central America migrants moving slowly toward the US border. The caravan of about 4,000 people is still about 1,600 miles from the border.

He also promised to put an end to the so-called "handing-over" policy by setting up tent cities to keep people crossing illegally. And this week, he says he can act by decree to unilaterally end citizenship for children of non-American citizens.

Trump's comments on Wednesday let some of them at the Pentagon scratch their heads. Officials said they did not plan to deploy up to 15,000 soldiers. This number could reach 10,000, counting the 2,100 National Guard soldiers who have been operating along the border for months as part of a separate but related mission. The number of active-duty soldiers hired for deployment rose to 7,000 on Wednesday, but could reach 8,000.

A deployment of 15,000 people would bring military engagement back to the border at about the same level as in war-torn Afghanistan. And that would more than double the number of people suspected of being in caravans.

Trump did not give up on Wednesday his controversial proposal to reverse the very concept of US citizenship. In a morning tweet, he said that the right to citizenship for babies born to non-citizens on American soil "will be abolished in one way or another".

He also claimed that what he calls "the so-called citizenship" was "not covered by the 14th Amendment".

However, the text of the citizenship cause introduced in the amendment is as follows: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to their jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and the State. in which they reside. " The citizenship proposal would inevitably trigger a long legal battle over whether the president can change the widely accepted view that the 14th amendment grants citizenship to any child born on American soil, regardless of the status of the child. immigration from his parents.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that "obviously" Trump could not overturn this policy by decree, drawing Trump's attention to his reproach. He said Wednesday that Ryan "should focus on holding the majority rather than giving his opinion on Birthright Citizenship, something he knows nothing about!"

Addressing reporters before leaving the White House for a Florida campaign rally, Trump compared his plan to act by executive order to President Barack Obama's much-maligned decision to use the 39, action by the executive to protect themselves from prosecution and allow some people to regain status illegally brought to the United States while he was a child.

"If it can do DACA, we can do it by executive order," said Trump, using the acronym for the Deferred Action Program for the arrival of children in the US. Obama era. Trump and his Justice Department argued that Obama's action was illegal.

Trump and many great collaborators have long considered the issue of immigration as the most effective rallying cry for his supporters. The president was to announce new actions at the border on Tuesday, but it was canceled to go to Pittsburgh, where 11 people were mbadacred Saturday in a synagogue during the Sabbath services.