President Trump on Wednesday said he may increase the number of US military troops at the border to as many as 15,000.
“We’ll do up to anywhere between 10 and 15,000 military personnel, on top of Border Patrol, ICE and everybody else at the border. Nobody’s coming in,” the president said at the White House before leaving for a campaign rally in Florida.
The president announced on Monday that he would mobilize 5,200 troops to help bolster the 2,000 National Guard members already deployed to increase security as a caravan of thousands of migrants makes its way to the US.
Asked if his decision to send troops was an attempt at fear-mongering in the days before next week’s midterm elections, Trump blamed the lack of immigration reform on Democrats.
“The Democrats have let immigration in our country get out of control with their horrible not allowing any votes to get passage” of immigration laws, he said.