29 October 2018•Update: 30 October 2018
By Umar Farooq
WASHINGTON
The U.S. military is planning to deploy 5,200 troops to the southwestern border by the end of the week as a migrant caravan makes its way north, officials said Monday.
The figure would be larger than the amount of U.S. troops in Syria and would be more than half the number of troops in NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.
The number is a major increase from the original estimate of 800 active-duty troops that were to be deployed. The U.S. has already deployed 2,000 troops from the National Guard earlier this year
n a news conference, Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy said the military assistance is to build up and "harden the points of entry, and address key gaps around the points of entry."
Among the military capabilities being deployed include the Army Corps of Engineers, combat engineering battalions as well as three helicopters
e general said some of the active-duty troops will be armed.
"We have the authority, given to us by Secretary [James] Mattis. The units that are normally assigned weapons, they are, in fact, deploying with weapons," said O'Shaughnessy.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said his officers at the border will be supported in the air by four helicopters as well as six other helicopter .
U.S. President Donald Trump has been vocal about the migrant caravan, calling it an "invasion" and saying it will be met by the military.
"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 caravan is comprised of around 3,500 people as it draws near the U.S. border. While beginning in Honduras, it reached a peak of 7,000 people as many from other Central American nations joined in the 1,553 (2,500 ) journey to reach the U.S. by foot.
The caravan mostly consists of Hondurans who are fleeing from violence and poverty in their home countries.
McAleenan said there was a similar caravan at the Guatemala-Mexico border region consisting of 3,000 people.
So far, local police in Mexico have not tried to stop the caravan. During the walk from the Guatemalan-Mexican border to the Mexican region of Tapachula, police set up twice with hundreds of riot-control equipped officers, but they were lifted before the migrants got there.
The deployment of troops is the latest in the Trump administration's effort to implement harsher border security measures as the caravan nears the U.S. border.
On Friday, Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen unveiled the first completed section of the border wall that was first announced by Trump on his campaign trail for the presidential election.
Troops being sent to the border, however, will not be engaging in law enforcement activities but will be acting in support roles for already present border patrol agents.
*Michael Hernandez contributed to this story
