According to a U.S. official, the White House will announce on Tuesday that active duty military members stationed at the United States-Mexico border will be granted the authority to defend border patrol agents, ABC News reported. As it currently stands, troops are allowed to defend themselves but cannot intervene if border patrol agents are swarmed by illegal aliens.
Although the Department of Homeland Security did not confirm the suspicions, they stressed the importance of safety.
“As Secretary Nielsen has said, we will not allow our frontline personnel to be in harm’s way," DHS spokesperson Kate Waldman told ABC News. "We will do everything we can to protect those who defend our nation’s sovereignty and secure our border. We appreciate the Department of Defense stepping in to assist the Department of Homeland Security as needed.”
The decision is anticipated because of the 3,000 illegal aliens who are currently at the border. They originally came from Central America and made it to the United States-Mexico border through the caravan that traveled across Central and South America.
Rumors circulated about members of the caravan gathering in Tijuana to plan a potential "rushing of the border," which caused the port of entry to close for three hours on Monday. The temporary closing allowed the military to install "jersey barriers and concertina wire" and bring additional border patrol agents to the area.
The rumors turned out to be false and no illegal aliens made it across the border.
There are roughly 5,900 troops currently stationed at the southern border. They are expected to stay at the border until December 15, unless the Pentagon decides otherwise.
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