Washington: The United States will send an additional 5,000 active duty troops to the southern border to aid in ongoing efforts to prevent migrants from Central America to the enter the country.
The move comes days ahead of the midterm elections, during campaigning for which, President Donald Trump has stressed on dangers stemming from immigration, especially from migrant caravans, CNN reported.
Taking to his Twitter account, Trump said that there are “Many Gang Members,” among the migrants, who are around 1500 kilometres away from the US border and will take weeks to reach, stating that they will not be admitted to the US without legal process.
“Many Gang Members and some very bad people are mixed into the Caravan heading to our Southern Border. Please go back, you will not be admitted into the United States unless you go through the legal process. This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!” Trump tweeted.
The tweet came two days after 11 people were killed at a Pittsburgh synagogue by a man with profound anti-Semitic views.
Trump has said earlier that the migrant issue will be central to his campaign and has, on numerous occasions, linked them with the Democrats.
A defence official confirmed that the deployment of troops, which has been named “Operation Faithful Patriot,” will start from November 5 and December 15. The troops will be sent to Brownsville, Texas, Nogales, Arizona and near San Diego, California.
The Commander of Northern Command will oversee the operation. North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, Kentucky’s Fort Campbell and Fort Knox, and Fort Hood in Texas will deploy the troops.
When questioned about the possibilities of the Southern Border being closed, White House Spokesperson Sarah Sanders said, “We have a number of options on the table and we’re exploring those.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]