US Department of Defense refuses to send troops to the border with Mexico

The US Department of Defense yesterday rejected a request from the Department of Homeland Security to deploy troops to the border with Mexico to stop a caravan of migrants heading toward the country.

Thousands of Central Americans are heading to the Mexico-US border. (Photo: Getty).

The Department of Homeland Security has previously been tasked by the US government with requesting reserve military forces to participate in controlling the flow of migrants and facilitating customs and border forces at the border with Mexico to do their jobs.

According to the US Department of Defense, this is an issue beyond its responsibility, but the Army will still support border forces and border protection to monitor the flow of migrants, as well as provide necessary logistical support.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced the deployment of troops to the border to stop the flow of migrants, and warned that he would allow military forces to open fire if migrants attacked them with bricks and rocks.

Statistics from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show that last September became a record month for illegal immigrants entering the US, mainly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

This situation continues to increase pressure on law enforcement forces protecting the southern border and challenges the tough policies of President Donald Trump’s administration. US officials assess this as an unprecedented border crisis in US history./.