The US states of Texas and Arizona on the plan to dispatch National Guard troops to the southern border with Mexico after President Donald Trump ordered a thousands-strong deployment to defend drug- trafficking and illegal immigration.
The Texas National Guard said it would dispatch 250 troops to the border within 72 hours and had already deployed two Lakota helicopters, while Arizonas governor said he would send 150 personnel next week.
“The Texas national guard is preparing to immediately deploy with supporting aircraft, vehicles and equipment to the Texas-Mexico border,” Brigadier General Tracy Norris, the commanding general of the Texas National Guard, told.
“This deployment has begun with the movement of equipment and troops today. Within 72 hours, the Texas military department will have 250 personnel along with ground surveillance vehicles as well as light and medium aviation platforms,” she added.
From 2,000 to 4,000 troops will be deployed at the border, Mr. Trump mentioned and keep many personnel on the border until his promised border wall is built.
The decision has raising tensions with Mexico, whose President Enrique Pena Nieto said Mr. Trump’s “threatening or disrespectful attitudes” were unjustified.
If 4,000 troops were deployed, that would be about double the current US military presence in Syria and about half as many as the number of US troops in Iraq.
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