Trump sends 5,200 soldiers to the border as part of an electoral response given to migrants



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WASHINGTON – More than 5,000 serving army troops will be deployed to the southern border by the end of this week, Defense Department officials announced Monday. the escalation of a demonstration of mid-term electoral strength against a caravan of Central American migrants. President Trump has termed "invasion of our country".

The grouping of US troops comes as Mr. Trump seized the caravan as a closing political message in the last week leading up to the elections, warning darkly – and without evidence – that the "people of the Middle East" are part of a dangerous crowd of migrants who threaten to break into the communities here.

But the caravan, which has grown from 7,000 people to less than 3,500, will only reach a few weeks before reaching the United States. The rare use of the active duty army to reinforce Mr. Trump's campaign message has intensified criticisms that the president is using the military for political purposes.

"It's about using the troops as props," said Jason Dempsey. an army infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, he is now an badistant research fellow at the Center for New American Security. "We are using a group of people to waste their time supporting the border patrol."

Strengthening the Army is the culmination of Trump's efforts in recent weeks to appealing to its most ardent supporters and centering the nation's efforts on the caravan of migrants

"Many gang members and very bad people mingle with the caravan heading towards our southern border," writes President Monday on Twitter . "Please, go back, you will not be admitted to the United States unless you go through the legal process." It's an invasion of our country and our military are waiting for you! "

Trump repeatedly quoted reports in Fox News as evidence of the growing threat, although some commentators on Trump's favorite TV channel ute the need for such an aggressive military response to the caravan.

"Tomorrow, a week. before the elections, that's the reason for that, "Fox News presenter Shepard Smith said on Monday. "There is no invasion. Nobody comes to get you. There's nothing to be scared of. "

He adds," We are America. We can deal with it. "

Kevin Appleby of the Center for Migration Studies criticized Trump's decision to send troops, saying it was a weakness rather than a force. [19659011] "The deployment by the world's most powerful military president a band of vulnerable asylum seekers is embarrbading," said Mr. Appleby.

But the president's tweet Monday and the subsequent announcement troops clearly indicated that the White House would not be deterred from focusing on the caravan, even after the suspect the killing of 11 Jews in Pittsburgh accused Jews of orchestrating the caravan to bring in "invaders" who would kill his people.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, on Monday rejected any link between the President's messages about the President's caravan and the Saturday killings at the Tree of Life synagogue from Squirrel Hill, a community of Pittsburgh.

"The very first thing the president did was to compensate for these heinous acts," she said. "The very first thing the media did was to blame the president."

Mr. Trump has been exploring options for weeks and is expected to soon take steps to ban entry into Central America, including for asylum seekers. The active duty military units will join border patrol agents and National Guard troops already badembled along the Texas-Arizona-California border.

Fort Campbell and Fort Knox as part of what the Pentagon calls Operation Faithful Patriot. General Terrence J. O. Shaughnessy, commander of United States Northern Command, announced that several thousand other soldiers would join them in strengthening the border.

"The President has made it clear that border security is essential. National Security, "said General O. Shaughnessy.

If the caravan follows the pattern of previous migrant groups, it is likely to contract further in the coming weeks, leaving it conquered by the gathering of soldiers [19659002] The military and border authorities insisted on Monday that the caravan was a serious threat and to indicate signs that more groups of migrants were forming.

"We must be ready for the arrival potential of a very large group. ", said Kevin K. McAleenan, Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection." We will not allow a large group to enter the United States in a dangerous and illegal manner.

McAleenan described the surge in border patrol resources in recent days, with more than 1,000 additional agents flocking to the area, including took those with tactical experience of fighting riots. He added that the Border Patrol had deployed Black Hawk helicopters and other equipment to react quickly to the arrival of migrants.

But he stated that the service army was deployed because its agents, supported by about 2,000 National Guard soldiers, might not be enough to repulse the men, women and children who walk towards United States.

Once fully deployed, active duty troops will include engineers who can help erect physical barriers to retaining migrants, officials said. Helicopter and aircraft units will also carry border patrol officers, medical support personnel and planning teams, who will help coordinate the influx of forces.

General O. Shaughnessy stated that the new forces would be armed and operate under the same legal rules. the authorities like the National Guard troops already at the border.

The mid-nineteenth century US-Mexico war sent a considerable number of soldiers to the border, and the army remained there for decades. For more than 60 years, the US military has maintained its outposts along the long border with Mexico, according to a military border story published by the Combat Studies Institute Press in Fort Leavenworth.

Trump's decision to send military forces to the border is a rare use of the armed forces over the last four decades. In the late 1980s, the Department of Defense sent soldiers and reservists on active service to the border as part of an effort to counter the flow of illicit drugs from Mexico. The army provided similar support services during this mission.

Since then, Mr. Trump's predecessors have relied heavily on Southern governors to call the National Guard in response to the increasing number of immigrants, firearms, and firearms. drugs from Mexico to the United States. States.

million. Trump is on the verge of breaking this tradition by fully embracing the power of the military, both as a foolproof deterrent and as an amplification of the real world of border patrol agents who are already trying to prevent illegal immigration.

The week – one of many in which he embraced the power of the military – Mr. Trump accused the Democrats of not having supported stricter border laws. He promised to use his power as commander-in-chief to respond to what he sees as a serious threat to the United States.

"Brandon Judd, of the National Border Patrol Council, is right when he says about @foxandfriends that the laws inspired by the Democrats make it difficult to stop people in the border, "wrote the president .

He added, "I'm training the military for this national emergency. They will be arrested! "

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