US to deploy troops to Mexican border
The US President said that US laws are so weak that it seems like the country has no border with Mexico.
Speaking at the White House on April 3, US President Donald Trump announced that he would deploy the military to stop illegal immigration from Mexico until the border wall between the two countries is completed.
|
| The border between the US (left) and Mexico. Photo:Wikipedia. |
The US President said that American laws are so weak that the country seems to have no borders.
“We don’t have laws. We catch people and release them. You catch them and you release them immediately and they come back a few years later. So we’re going to deploy the military to secure the border between the United States and Mexico. We’re going to have a meeting about that with Secretary Mattis and everybody. And I think that’s what we have to do.”
Experts say this could be a major escalation in the US presence along the border with Mexico, where the US Border Patrol (USBP), which is not part of the US military, is tasked with protecting the border area.
The US President has recently reversed his hardline stance on immigration, backing away from efforts to compromise with Democrats. Donald Trump is increasing pressure to reform immigration policy after failing to convince the US Congress to allocate $25 billion to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
Previously, President Donald Trump declared to “close the door” on the agreement to protect immigrants who came to the US illegally as children (known as the DACA program), demanding that Mexico increase its efforts to prevent illegal immigration into the US. He also warned that he would withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) if Mexico did not take necessary measures to prevent the flow of illegal immigrants into the US.
The deployment of troops at the border is an unusual move but not unprecedented.
Former US Presidents Barack Obama and George Bush also deployed National Guard troops to the border to help stop illegal immigration. This was a temporary measure to gain support from conservative voters for reforming immigration policies that are currently a loophole for millions of immigrants seeking US citizenship./.
