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President Donald Trump said that the number of troops deployed at the US-Mexico border could reach 15,000. Trump said that this measure would seek to prevent the entry of a caravan of migrants from Central America. (October 31)
AP

On this photo provided by the US Air Force, first class aircraft manufacturer, Trevor Pearce, guides the military vehicle into the cargo compartment of a C-17 Globemaster III in Fort Knox, Ken. On October 29, 2018, as the crew prepares to deploy to the southwestern border in support of "Operation Faithful Patriot".(Photo: Airman 1st class Zoe Wockenfuss, US Air Force via AP)

During a brief gathering of journalists this week, General Terrence O. Shaughnessy, Commander of US Northern Command, was asked to state the exact reason for which he was charged with deploying. more than 5,200 soldiers on active service on the southern border with Mexico.

"To secure the border," he said.

"What?" He was asked.

O 'Shaughnessy did not answer.

President Donald Trump has argued that the caravan of Central American migrants moving slowly to the United States represents a national emergency and a threat to US sovereignty that justified the rare step of a nationwide mobilization of active troops. . On Wednesday, he said the caravan was a threat such that the deployment could reach between 10,000 and 15,000 men.

Military experts and Democratic members of Congress have called the deployment a "political coup" aimed more at wiping out the Republican base ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections to stop a caravan that has gone from 10,000 to 3 500 but remains over 900 miles from the nearest entrance to the border.

Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat of the Homeland Security Committee, called the deployment a "blatant attempt to incite hatred and fear" a week before the elections. Retired Army General Stanley McChrystal lamented the use of the military for clearly political purposes, saying on MSNBC that such an approach did not reflect the values ​​of the military. ;America.

And the representative. Adam Smith, D-Wash, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the deployment made no sense as most members of the caravan were simply trying to exercise. their legal right to present themselves at US entry points. to ask for asylum, as was the case when the last caravan of migrants reached the US border.

"There is absolutely no reason to further politicize and militarize this humanitarian crisis," Smith said.

Kevin McAleenan, head of the US Customs and Border Protection division, the agency to which military troops will be supporting Operation Operation Faithful Patriot, was directly questioned this week on the character deployment policy. The commissioner stated that this was not the case, arguing that it was an effort to prevent the "near-riots" that occurred when the caravan had crossed the border between Guatemala and Mexico are not repeated at the border of the United States and Mexico.

"It's a law enforcement operation," McAleenan said. "Because of the size (of the caravan), we want to be able to manage it efficiently and safely."

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis maintained this position on Wednesday, echoing Trump's comments that the caravan posed a threat and saying "we are not doing stunts in this department". The Pentagon subsequently increased the estimated number of troops deployed on active service to more than 7,000.

The deployment initially questioned the ability of a president to deploy troops in the United States. A 140-year-old law, known as the Posse Comitatus Act, generally bars a president from using armed forces on active service within US borders.

But Congress has made some exceptions to this rule over the years. The army can be used to put an end to armed insurrections and help recover weapons of mass destruction on American soil.

In 1991, Congress passed legislation allowing the Pentagon to assist law enforcement officials at the federal and national levels in national drug operations. This led to an incident in Texas in 1997, in which a navy on a drug watchdog mission shot and killed an 18-year-old who was raising goats on his family's ranch.

The Congressional Research Service has examined the issue of troop deployments in the national territory in an April report, concluding that the armed services "do not appear to have a clear legislative mandate to protect or oversee borders. " But the report concluded that Title 10 of the US law allows members to "provide certain types of support" to law enforcement, including air surveillance, equipment operation, intelligence-sharing and advice.

It is the article of the American law that O 'Shaughnessy quoted Tuesday explaining to the authorities that he had to deploy the troops. He added that some of the troops would be armed, but they would mainly carry border patrol agents and build tents, not hold and confront the migrants.

Troops will be trained only to interact with migrants in case of "accidental contact," O. Shaughnessy said.

And that's why Trump can apparently continue to send as many troops as he wants. The Border Patrol has 16,500 border officers, the National Guard has more than 2,000 soldiers on Trump's orders, and the President announced that he could add 15,000 more troops.

"Nobody comes home," Trump said Wednesday. "Immigration is a very, very big and very dangerous, a really dangerous subject. We will not allow people to enter our country who do not care about the welfare of our country. "

Contributor: Tom Vanden Brook in Washington.

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