WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he’s “bringing out the military” to address what he’s calling a national emergency at the southern border.
The comments in Thursday’s tweet come as thousands of Central American migrants continue their caravan trek through Mexico toward the hoped-for, but still far-distant U.S. border.
Trump in his tweet is blaming Democrats for laws he says make it too hard to stop people at the border. He says those trying to enter the U.S. “will be stopped!”
Trump tweeted Monday that he’d alerted the military that the situation was a “National Emergy”.
A U.S. official says Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to sign an order as early as Thursday sending 800 or more troops to the southern border to support the Border Patrol.
The additional troops are to provide what one official described as logistical support to the Border Patrol. This would include a variety of things such as vehicles, tents and equipment.
There already are about 2,000 National Guard troops assisting at the border under a previous Pentagon arrangement.
Trump told a rally crowd in Wisconsin on Wednesday that the military was “all set.”
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
