SETH MICHAEL MEYER
Assistant News Editor
In a controversial move to protect the southern border, President Donald Trump announced in a memorandum Thursday that he would send members of the National Guard to protect the 1,254-mile border.
In the memo, many arguments were made to support the decision made by the president, including the excessive trafficking of opioids, “extensive” illegal immigration and the surging worry of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a notorious criminal gang that the President says is, “systematically exploiting our unsecured southern border to enter our country and develop operational capacity in American communities throughout the country.”
“The situation at the border has now reached a point of crisis,” the memo reads “The lawlessness that continues at our southern border is fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security, and sovereignty of the American people. My Administration has no choice but to act.”
The first group of troops from Texas are already being sent to the border soon with hundreds more troops from different states following. “State officials said 250 Texas National Guard personnel would be dispatched to the border within 72 hours,” reported the New York Times on Friday.
The New York Times also reported that Republican governors Doug Ducey, of Arizona and Susana Martinez, of New Mexico, have vowed to dispatch a portion of their troops, while the Democratic governor of Montana, Steve Bullock, has refused to send support despite the president’s order.
President Trump has expressed interest in mobilizing up to 4,000 servicemen to occupy the border. General James Mattis, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, has signed an authorization to fund the mission for up to 4,000 troops with the provision that they [be under the] command and control of their respective governors.”
In recent weeks, the president has mentioned the emergence of a caravan of immigrants from Honduras and other Central American countries. The caravan, which once amassed 1,000 migrants and refugees, arrived at its final stop in Mexico City with 150 members, the Associated Press reported.
In a tweet from President Trump, he refers to the caravan and relates it to the actions he has initiated to secure the southern border.
“The Caravan is largely broken up thanks to the strong immigration laws of Mexico,”the President tweeted, “Because of Trump Administration’s actions, Border crossings are at a still UNACCEPTABLE 46 year low. Stop drugs!”
A Pew Research study reports that there were 11.3 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Those undocumented people make up 3.4 percent of the U.S. population. This number has seen a slight relative decrease each year since its peak in 2007.
The same study suggests that Mexico may no longer be the source of the majority of the U.S.’s undocumented population. Since 2009, the Pew Research report explains that the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico has decreased, while undocumented peoples from Central America and Asia has increased.
As American service members mobilize to the border, the security measure is being scrutinized across the country. CNN makes the case that this measure cannot help border control directly.
“Federal law prohibits the military from being used to enforce laws, meaning troops cannot actually participate in immigration enforcement,” CNN stated.
They further mentioned similar instances during the Obama and Bush administrations where the National Guard was deployed to the border.
“In the past, they’ve served in support roles like training, construction and intelligence gathering.”