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TRUMP-IMMIGRATION-SHOOT
Trump threatens to shoot migrants who throw stones at US military
WASHINGTON, Nov 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump on Thursday
warned that soldiers deployed to the Mexican border could shoot Central
American migrants who throw stones at them while attempting to cross
illegally.
Trump told journalists at the White House that a group of several thousand
migrants walking through Mexico towards the US border had thrown rocks
“viciously and violently” at Mexican police.
“We’re not going to put up with that. They want to throw rocks at our
military, our military fights back,” he said.
“I told them (troops) consider it (a rock) a rifle. When they throw rocks
like they did at the Mexican military and police, I say consider it a rifle.”
Trump spoke during a presentation of his controversial policy on cracking
down against what he says is uncontrolled illegal immigration.
Contacted for comment, Pentagon spokesman Army Lieutenant Colonel Jamie
Davis said the military would not discuss hypothetical situations on the use
of force “but our forces are trained professionals who always have the
inherent right of self-defense.”
“I would also emphasize that our forces are in support of DHS/CBP, who are
performing law enforcement activities,” he added, referring to the frontline
Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection.
Trump has ramped up the rhetoric daily ahead of next Tuesday’s midterm
congressional elections, accusing the opposition Democrats of wanting to
throw open the borders to floods of “tough people,” “rapists” and other types
of threats.
The current focus of the president’s repeated claim to be acting against
“an invasion” is the dwindling group of a few thousand impoverished migrants
trying to get north, but still far from the US border.
Trump said that from now on, the United States will stop its policy of
allowing people to claim political asylum at the border unless they have
first gone through an official border post.
Those caught at the border will be held in tent camps or other facilities
until they can be deported or have their requests approved, he said.
Critics say that such a radical rethink to asylum policies could violate
current laws.
But Trump rejected this.
“This is totally legal. No, we’re stopping people at the border. This is an
invasion, and nobody is even questioning that,” he said.
“We’ll be doing an executive order sometime next week,” he said, giving
little further detail.
Despite Trump’s increasingly severe warnings of immigration chaos, the
government on Wednesday issued figures saying that only about 400,000 people
have been apprehended at the border in 2018, down from around 1.6 million in
2000.
Trump said he was not anti-immigrant but wanted immigration to be
completely brought under control.
“Mass uncontrolled immigration is especially unfair to the many wonderful
law-abiding immigrants already living here who followed the rules and waited
their turn,” he said.
“Some have been waiting for many years. Some have been waiting a long time.
They have done everything perfectly, and they are going to come in.”
BSS/AFP/MRI/0800 hrs