With less than two weeks before the midterm elections, the Pentagon is preparing to deploy at least 800 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to confront a migrant caravan that President Donald Trump has described as a “national emergency,” said administration officials.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis may sign an order mobilizing those troops as early as on October 25, according to two administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. They said the number of troops will range from 800 to 1,000.
The news of Mattis’ decision follows a Thursday morning tweet from Trump who vowed to halt the Central American caravan by “bringing out the military.”
The troops would add to the roughly 2,100 National Guard soldiers Trump already spread out across the border under an order from Trump earlier this year.
The troops are not engaging with migrants directly or performing law enforcement duties. Instead, they’re backing up Customs and Border Protection by monitoring video of the border and performing other tasks to free up Border Patrol agents to do their job in securing the border.
Source: USA Today
