Trump warns he could send up to 15,000 troops to US-Mexico border

Large groups of Central American migrants expected to arrive at the border in so-called caravans

WASHINGTON DC: Thousands of active-duty US troops are immediately deploying to the US-Mexico frontier to tighten security and provide back up to overstretched border agents, in order to address large groups of migrants arriving at the border in so-called caravans, made up largely of Central American migrants.

The issue has incensed President Donald Trump, who has sought to make political capital by depicting the migrants as carrying out an "invasion" of America. During a campaigning stopover, Trump has warned that he could send as many as 15,000 troops to border.



Trump has repeatedly hammered on the caravans and tried to keep the issue in the headlines ahead of crucial mid-term congressional elections that could see the Democrats regain some degree of power.

The Democrats, for their part, have seemed to founder in terms of presenting a coherent message on border and immigration issues and the caravans.

Numbers are changing daily, but so far the Pentagon has authorised 5,239 active-duty troops to go to the border on a 45-day deployment. Another 2,000 or more are on standby, and some 2,100 National Guardsmen are already in the border region to support agents there.

That means more than 9,000 troops have already been committed to military operations on the border and Trump, who is prone to hyperbole, on Wednesday said the final number could swell to 15,000 troops.

The soldiers -- who will be armed -- taking part in "Operation Faithful Patriot" are not meant to directly interact with migrants. Rather, they will provide logistical support to agents with the US Customs and Border Protection Agency.



General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, head of the US military's Northern Command, said troops will focus on trying to "harden" border crossings and surrounding areas, with work done by combat engineering battalions with experience building temporary fencing.

A first caravan, which has dwindled and now numbers some 4,000 people, according to an aid group called Pueblos sin Fronteras, arrived on Tuesday in the town of Juchitan, in Oaxaca. A smaller group of 2,000 people managed to cross the Suchiate River separating Mexico from Guatemala the day before.

The migrants are moving slowly, mostly by foot, and are still hundreds of miles from the US border. They might not even arrive there until after the 45-day deployment is over.

Defence Secretary James Mattis on Wednesday rejected criticism that the deployment is a political move ahead of next week's elections. "We don't do stunts in this department," he said. But critics have piled on, and said Trump does not have the legal authority to order the military to enforce domestic laws.

The Pentagon has not provided an estimate of costs of the operation. Republican Congressman Jason Smith said he was glad Trump is taking a stance on the caravan issue. "Our laws and sovereignty have to be respected," he wrote on Twitter.