Sunday, November 4, 2018

Troops Deploy to Parts of Border Where Migrant Caravans Are Deemed Most Likely to Go

Photo: senior airman alexandra minor ha/Shutterstock
More than 3,500 U.S. troops have been deployed near three areas along the U.S.-Mexican border where U.S. officials have assessed migrants and asylum seekers from Central America are most likely to try to enter the country in coming weeks.
Troops are in place around McAllen and Brownsville, in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley; San Ysidro, Calif., south of San Diego; and Nogales, Ariz., U.S. officials said.
Members of migrant caravans, which are more than 800 miles from the nearest crossing and traveling by foot, are likely to choose one of those areas to try to enter the U.S. because they are the safer and easier options, given their current course, the officials said.
The troops are the first to arrive of more than 7,000 active-duty personnel that the Department of Defense said would provide support for U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers along the border.
Photo: luis villalobos/epa-efe/rex/Shutterstock
The scale of the deployment, which the Pentagon has increased at least three times in the past week, represents a major escalation of the U.S. military presence at the border as President Trump emphasizes immigration issues in the final days of the midterm-election campaign.
No troops are deployed at any of the dozens of ports of entry between the two countries. Instead, they are in nearby staging areas, the officials said. However, at least 100 troops, mostly engineers, began positioning closer to entry ports at McAllen on Friday, a defense official said. More are expected to arrive over the weekend. As of Friday evening, there were 2,250 troops in Texas, 1,100 in California and about 170 in Arizona.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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