Trump Threatens To Send Troops to the U.S.-Mexico Border

According to a new article this morning in the Washington Post, “President Donald Trump has threatened to summon the military to close the U.S.-Mexico border and upend a trade deal.”

The Post said that the president has been experiencing “mounting frustration with a large caravan of migrants from Honduras that has been making its way toward the United States.” He said he may take military action to stop immigrants from crossing the southern border into the U.S. if Mexico does not take action to stop the “onslaught.”

In a series of early-morning tweets Trump blamed Democrats for the “assault on our country,” adding that illegal immigration is “far more important” to him than trade or the new USMCA trade pact with Mexico and Canada.

He also harshly criticized Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, saying these Central American countries “have almost no control over their population.”

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The president tweeted:

“I am watching the Democrat Party led (because they want Open Borders and existing weak laws) assault on our country by Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, whose leaders are doing little to stop this large flow of people, INCLUDING MANY CRIMINALS, from entering Mexico to U.S…..”

“….In addition to stopping all payments to these countries, which seem to have almost no control over their population, I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught – and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!..”

“….The assault on our country at our Southern Border, including the Criminal elements and DRUGS pouring in, is far more important to me, as President, than Trade or the USMCA. Hopefully Mexico will stop this onslaught at their Northern Border. All Democrats fault for weak laws!”

Trump’s tweetstorm came while an immigrant caravan of thousands of people is moving north from Honduras toward the US-Mexico border. Trump earlier this week said he would withhold financial aid to Central American countries if the caravan is not stopped. In the most recent fiscal year, the United States gave $248 million in aid to Guatemala, $175 million to Honduras and $115 million to El Salvador.

Last April the president said he would deploy U.S. troops to guard the Mexican border until his proposed wall is built. He also said that he had been discussing the idea with Defense Secretary James Mattis.

“Until we can have a wall and proper security, we are going to be guarding our border with the military,” Trump said at the time. “That’s a big step. We really haven’t done that before, or certainly not very much before.”

So far Trump has not deployed troops to the southern border, but if today’s tweets are any indication, he is close to taking that action.

Trump has been demanding that Republicans in Congress make immigration a central issue in this year’s midterm election campaigns. He  has continually blamed Democrats for his own failures in passing immigration reform legislation in the GOP-controlled Congress.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.