US Secretary of Homeland Security Nielsen visits New California Border Wall: NPR

"This is a wall," said Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, in the shadow of a new 30-foot wall in Calexico, California, that would help US agents to secure the border.

"Let's be clear: the walls work," said Nielsen. "It's not my opinion, it's not a slogan, it's not a political statement, it's a fact."

Nielsen spoke a day after the announcement that the Pentagon could command up to 800 soldiers up to the US-Mexico border, while thousands of people leave Guatemala to travel north in a large caravan of migrants.

Asked about this development, Ms. Nielsen stated that she had sought the assistance of the Department of Defense, mainly in engineering and logistics – and that it was incumbent upon the military leaders of decide how to achieve these goals.

The role of the army "would include vehicle gates, pedestrian gates," said Nielsen. According to Tom Bowman of the NPR, the troops will also "set up command and control centers, temporary shelters, field kitchens and field medical personnel".

The migrant caravan is heading north from Guatemala; It is about 1,000 miles from the United States. When asked how the DHS planned to deal with the group, Nielsen said his agency would announce measures "as part of our legal structure, to ensure that it is about An orderly process and that those who do not have the right to be in our country can be apprehended quickly and removed. "

Nielsen's remarks come one day after she spoke to Fox News on the plan to deploy troops to the border. During this interview, he was asked if a scenario could arise in which migrants who tried to cross the border "could be targeted".

"We currently have no intention of shooting at people," Nielsen said. "They will be apprehended, though."

When Nielsen was asked if US troops would be armed, she said: "All rules of engagement must be respected. [Defense] Secretary Mattis. "

NPR's Bowman notes that troops will not "engage with migrants or protesters" because of the Posse Commitatus law, which forbids the US military from enforcing state laws. . Instead, they will play a supportive role to reinforce the influx of hundreds of customs officers and border patrol along the border.

Describing the characteristics of the wall section in California, Nielsen said, "It's different than a fence because it's part of a system, so it has the technology, some of which is visible, others not.

"Our hope is that … it serves as an impedance and prevents a flow" on the wall, she said.

Nielsen added, "That's what the president asked us to do, it's part of a system."

In early 2019, said Nielsen, the government will begin to build another section of the 11-kilometer wall, on the other side of the entrance port of the El Centro region.

Nielsen congratulated President Trump for his commitment to building a wall along the Mexican border and she repeatedly called on Congress to amend US immigration laws that make it almost impossible to detain and return those who arrive with a minor ".

Nielsen called on Congress to fund the construction of a wall reminding legislators of the 2006 Secure Fence Act, in which lawmakers supported the idea of ​​adding a barrier and other measures. about 700 miles from the border.

"We need the wall," she said, "so we will continue to seek additional funding from Congress."

The Trump administration plan provides for troops to be in place by Tuesday, one week before polling day.