I’m sure that some of you pumped your fist or nodded your head approvingly when you heard that the Pentagon is sending 52-hundred active duty military troops to the US-Mexico border in advance of the “migrant caravan” making its way through Mexico. Now that they are there, what do you expect them to do?
There are now two “caravans” in Mexico. The original was still 900-miles away from the US border as of yesterday. A second “caravan” just crossed into Mexico yesterday and is more than a thousand miles away. So what are the assembled troops in Texas supposed to do in the meantime? At their current rate, the migrants (if they walk all the way) won’t get to the US before Thanksgiving. That’s a long time for our servicemen and women to just be standing around.
It’s also possible that the migrants could break off into more than two groups–and try to enter the US anywhere along the border. In case you are wondering, the border with Mexico spans 3201 miles from California to Texas. With 52-hundred troops deployed to the region, that means each soldier would have to patrol 3/4’s of a mile by themselves 24-hours a day. And some of that land is incredibly rugged and not easily accessed. Not to mention, much of it is privately owned–and would require permission from the owner to conduct military operations.
But the biggest mystery is what exactly our troops are supposed to do if the caravan actually reaches the border? If all five or six thousand go to a Customs port, they are legally allowed to ask for asylum and are automatically granted a review of that request (while staying in the US). Do you want the troops to stand between the border and the Immigration offices and bar anyone from getting past them? Do you think the migrants are going to see that, just drop their heads, turn around and walk all the way back to Honduras?
And what if the caravan decides to storm the border? Are you prepared to watch video of our soldiers trying to beat back women with children? Or do you secretly hope that the troops will open fire on the unarmed masses? The President has called them “invaders”. Will you just explain that away with “maybe they should have brought guns to protect themselves too”?
Fortunately, we have the better part of a month to reconsider using the Army and the Marines to assist in immigration enforcement. That’s more than enough time for at least 50 other crises to pop up around the Trump administration and distract the President from this half-brained solution.
