National Guard to Secure the Border as Part of Trump’s Strategy Before Wall Is Built

President Donald Trump is considering sending the National Guard to secure the U.S.-Mexico border before a wall is built, according to the White House.

The president was briefed last week about a growing influx of illegal aliens, gang members, and drugs pouring across the border. The White House revealed late on Tuesday that Trump was briefed again on the administration’s strategy for dealing with the issue, which specifically “includes the mobilization of the National Guard.”

Trump won’t be the first president to send the National Guard to reinforce the border. Barack Obama sent 1,200 National Guard troops to the Mexico border in 2010. Four years prior, George Bush sent 6,000 troops to the border in an operation known as “Jump Start.”

Trump first suggested using the military to reinforce the border on March 25, when he signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill. That bill only included $1.6 billion for border wall construction, far short of the $25 billion Trump asked for.

In the following days, the president developed that hint and tweeted that the wall should be built by the military. On Tuesday, April 4, Trump told reporters that he plans to have the military guard the border.

“We have very bad laws for our border, and we are going to be doing some things—I’ve been speaking with General Mattis—we’re going to be doing things militarily,” Trump said during a meeting with Baltic leaders. “Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military. That’s a big step.”

Trump said that current immigration laws, including those from the Obama era, are “very weak” and urged Congress to work on immigration reform. The president’s advisers told The New York Times on Monday that he is working on new legislation that would block illegal aliens from claiming asylum.

Under current immigration policies, an alien who crosses the border illegally and is apprehended can make a plea for asylum. Immigration authorities then process the case and release the alien into the United States with a pending court date. Trump has repeatedly lambasted this process, which has come to be known as “catch-and-release.”

“Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release,” he tweeted on April 1. “Getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW.”

The caravan that Trump referred to in the tweet consisted of over 1,000 Central Americans, mostly from Honduras, moving through Mexico toward the United States with the intention of claiming asylum. Trump threatened to end the NAFTA deal with Mexico if the officials there didn’t act to stop the caravan.

By Tuesday, Mexican officials said that the caravan had mostly broken up. Trump noted that it was Mexico responding to the pressure he applied. He also suggested that a future NAFTA deal would happen, but would have to feature a border security component.

“I’ve just heard that the caravan coming up from Honduras is broken up, and Mexico did that. And they did it because, frankly, I said, ‘You really have to do it.’ We’re going to have a relationship with NAFTA. We’re going to have to include security in NAFTA,” the president said.

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