Joint Chiefs Chairman Says U.S. Troops Won’t Touch ‘Invading’ Refugees

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The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, has promised that U.S. troops will not interact with immigrants at the southern U.S. border.

“The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says the US military members sent to the southern border will not be involved in denying entry to migrants.”

“There is no plan for U.S. military forces to be involved in the actual mission of denying people entry to the United States,” Dunford said.

“There is no plan for the soldiers to come in with immigrants or to reinforce the Department of Homeland Security as they are conducting their mission,” he continued. “We are providing enabling capability.”

Dunford’s comments came after President Donald Trump announced the deployment of several thousand troops to prepare for what he called an “invasion” by a caravan of Central American migrants. These poor refugees are in southern Mexico and are traveling on foot in their attempt to reach the United States to seek asylum from violence in their own countries.

On Monday Trump made it sound as if the active-duty troops assigned to the border in “Operation Faithful Patriot” would play a prominent and visible role.

“Barbed wire looks like it’s going to be very effective, too, with soldiers standing in front of it,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Cleveland.

But the intent of Operation Faithful Patriot is for the active duty troops to only provide support for the Border Patrol. They are forbidden by federal law to carry out law enforcement duties.

General Dunford restated the mission’s intent in his remarks at Duke University on Monday evening when he clarified that military personnel will merely assist Border Patrol staff to fill in gaps in physical barriers along the border.

Dunford said the Department of Homeland Security had requested logistical support also. “So you’ll see some soldiers down there right now that are putting up concertina wire and reinforcing the points of entry. Our personnel are providing trucks and helicopter support and then also some medical support,” Dunford added.

Trump has in recent weeks made the approaching caravan of migrants a focal point of his midterm campaign message. He has painted the group as an imminent threat to national security, and dispatched the military to the border in response.

Most people think that troops are not necessary since there is no real invasion. Former President Barack Obama said that sending troops was “a political stunt” by Trump.

The use of the United States military for partisan political purposes is not allowed. Also, it is not looked upon favorably by the majority of Americans. The fact that Trump is doing this shows that he is desperate. He is powerless to stop the Blue Wave that will hit him after today’s elections.

By telling thousands of lies and taking meaningless actions he is doing nothing but showing the American people that he is both impotent and pathetic.

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Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.