MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The US Department of Defense has extended until the end of September its support mission along the border with Mexico.
“Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan approved Department of Defense assistance to DHS through Sept. 30, 2019. DOD is transitioning its support at the southwestern border from hardening ports of entry to mobile surveillance and detection, as well as concertina wire emplacement between ports of entry,” the statement read.
Several thousands of people from a migrant caravan are currently staying at the border between Mexico and the United States. According to different estimates, from 6,000 to 9,000 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador can be staying in the cities of Tijuana and Mexicali. The US authorities have deployed scores of servicemen at the border over security concerns.
In late November, US law enforcement and members of a Central American caravan clashed on the border after a group of around 500 of the migrants attempted to storm into the United States, but were thwarted by US authorities with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Trump said during his first address from the Oval Office last week that the United States was facing a humanitarian and security crisis on the border with Mexico. In a tweet on Saturday, he claimed arrests on the border had gone up 240 percent, with 292,000 crimes in Texas in 2011-2018 committed by undocumented migrants.
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The United States currently has physical barriers in place along about 30 percent of its 1,954-mile border with Mexico. At present, these 600 miles worth of barrier largely consist of multi-layered vehicle and pedestrian fences ranging in height from 15 to 20 feet tall. Trump has asked for an additional $5.7 billion to erect steel walls across 234 miles of the border. Current prototypes range in height from 18 to more than 30 feet tall, according to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.
On Monday, the US government shutdown entered day 24 as congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump continue to be at odds on a new spending bill. Trump is asking Congress to approve more than $5 billion for constructing a wall on the border with Mexico as part of the spending bill, while Democrats refuse to provide the funds for a border wall.
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Sourse: sputniknews.com
