The Pentagon will send roughly 500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist federal border agents amid the coronavirus pandemic, three U.S. officials told Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: An armed U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent stands watch at the border fence next the the beach in Tijuana, at the Border State Park in San Diego, California, U.S. November 16, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoThe United States already maintains an average of 5,000 troops at the southwest border to support Border Patrol by performing non-law enforcement duties.
One of the U.S. officials - all of whom requested anonymity to discuss the decision - said the Trump administration worries the pandemic could further depress Mexico’s already troubled economy and encourage illegal immigration from that country to the United States.The move came as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump shelved a plan to send troops to the border with Canada, U.S. officials told Reuters.
The Trump administration has stepped up its response to the coronavirus outbreak this month as infections have spread across the country. For the first time on Tuesday, the United States recorded nearly 700 new deaths in a single day. The country now has a total of over 3,800 deaths and over 185,000 cases.
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