President Donald Trump has vowed to keep Central American migrants away from the border, threatening Mexico with consequences unless it complies.
Earlier in the month, the commander-in-chief posted a storm of angry Tweets, decrying a so-called ‘caravan’ of immigrants moving toward the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Politico.com, he’s instructed federal agents to bar any undocumented aliens from crossing into the United States.
While the Mexican authorities arrested most members of the caravan, Trump still took time on Monday to blast Democrats for taking a purportedly soft stance on migration.
“Despite the Democrat inspired laws on Sanctuary Cities and the Border being so bad and one sided, I have instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country,” wrote the president, whose off-kilter use of capital letters never ceases to confuse and befuddle. “It is a disgrace. We are the only Country in the World so naïve! WALL” [sic]
Over the course of the past several weeks, President Trump has taken to demanding National Guard deployments from border states. Initially, four out of four governors agreed.
California has since withdrawn from the program, saying it’ll commit troops to combat crime and narcotics smuggling only on the condition that its Guard not be used to enforce immigration law. The backpedaling – consistent with California Gov. Jerry Brown’s ‘sanctuary’ policies – drew the wrath of Trump, who was once accused of ‘declaring war’ on the Golden State.
Perhaps to compensate for California’s noncompliance, Trump again took to intimidating Mexico over Twitter.
“Mexico, whose laws on immigration are very tough, must stop people from going through Mexico and into the U.S. We may make this a condition of the new NAFTA Agreement,” wrote Trump. “Our Country cannot accept what is happening!
“Also, we must get Wall funding fast.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielson neglected to mention Trump’s comments on migrant caravans in a Monday statement, opting instead to focus her attention on the nuances of everyday reality. Nielson encouraged prospective refugees to pursue legal channels for obtaining asylum and to seek safe harbors in countries like Mexico in the meantime. She also warned that breaches of U.S. immigration law would be treated as the offenses they are.
“DHS continues to monitor the remnants of the ‘caravan’ of individuals headed to our southern border with the apparent intention of entering the United States illegally,” Nielson said. “A sovereign nation that cannot – or worse, chooses not – to defend its borders will soon cease to be a sovereign nation.”
She concluded her statement by saying, “The Trump administration is committed to enforcing our immigration laws – whether persons are part of this ‘caravan’ or not.”
Sources
Trump proposes sending troops to U.S.-Mexico border until wall is built
Trump vows to bar ‘caravans’ of asylum-seeking migrants from entering U.S.
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