ACLU Border Rights Center’s Comment on Announcement to Further Militarize Border

EL PASO — President Trump today announced his intention to deploy U.S. military to the U.S.– Mexico Border until a wall is built. The comment was made during a luncheon with leaders of the Baltic States and then repeated at a press conference afterward.

“Sending our military to the border would be irresponsible and contrary to the armed forces’ constitutional role,” said Astrid Dominguez, director for the ACLU Border Rights Center. “It is also unnecessary because there is no border security crisis despite television alarmism about migrants fleeing repression. Our border region has been highly militarized in the last decade, and 15 million border residents have been negatively impacted by Trump’s deportation force and his cruel enforcement policies carried out by more than 16,000 Border Patrol agents. Border crossings are at a historic low and the Department of Homeland Security has stated that the border has never been harder to cross undetected. Our border communities deserve to be respected and not exploited for political points or for a harmful, pointless wall.”