U.S. Army Soldiers with the 289th Composite Supply Company, prep food and water for transport to Camp Donna at Weslaco, Texas, Nov. 23, 2018. Soldiers will provide a range of support including planning assistance, engineering support, equipment and resources to assist the Department of Homeland Security along the southwest border. (U.S. Air Force/SrA Alexandra Minor0
The Pentagon is sending about 320 more troops to the southwestern border, and although they will interact with migrants, they will not arrest or detain anyone, a Defense Department spokesman said on Monday.
President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that the Pentagon is "now sending ARMED SOLDIERS to the Border," an escalation on his declaration in early April that he's "going to have to call up more military" to defend U.S.-Mexico border.
But when the commander-in-chief imagined a fresh round of troop deployment to the southwest border, he probably didn't mean military cooks, lawyers, and drivers.
WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials are considering whether to keep U.S. troops along the southwest border an additional 45 days, potentially extending a controversial mission to assist the Border Patrol into next year, U.S. officials said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Public Affairs/Ralph Desio
The Pentagon is sending 800 or more additional troops to the Southwest border in response to President Donald Trump’s vow to use the military to block a caravan of Central American immigrants from entering the United States, a U.S. official said.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he’ll mobilize the U.S. military to close the border with Mexico to stop an “assault” on the nation by a caravan of migrants from Central America.
