(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)President Donald Trump has ended the partial government shutdown so that furloughed workers can receive their paychecks, but that doesn’t mean that he’s given up on the issue of border security. On Tuesday, the Pentagon gave the order — illegal aliens attempting to enter the U.S. are in for a surprise.
Pentagon officials revealed on Tuesday that they will be deploying an additional 2,000 troops to the southwestern border as part of the DHS’ request for the military to extend its mission there. Currently, there are about 2,300 troops stationed at the border.
About 2,300 active-duty troops are deployed to the southwest border, down from 5,900 in November. The mission was extended to Sept. 30 this month. About 3,600 active-duty troops returned to their home stations late last year after placing barriers such as concertina wire.
It wasn’t clear whether any of the additional troops could be from the National Guard. Besides the active-duty contingent, about 2,200 National Guard personnel are on the border. [Source: POLITICO]
Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said: “Most recently DHS has asked us to support them in additional concertina wire and then expanded surveillance capability, and we’ve responded with, you know, here’s how many people it would take.”
Originally, the military’s mission at the border was intended to last until December 15, but it will now be extended until September 30. Shanahan’s spokesman revealed that the military is identifying units to meet the DHS’ request and expects them to deploy soon.
“We are supporting our federal partners on the border, and that mission has been extended until September,” stated Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jamie Davis. “We are currently sourcing the units involved and there will be an increase of a few thousand troops.”
The entire operation is estimated to cost $132 million by the end of January, and over $600 million by the close of the fiscal year in September. This, of course, only further proves the point that finishing President Trump’s border wall is the fiscally responsible thing to do.
Not only is it costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to have the U.S. military at the border protecting against the onslaught of illegal immigrants attempting to infiltrate the country, but that doesn’t even account for how much the ones who do make it in cost us once they are here.
Clearly, President Donald Trump is not backing down from his commitment to secure our porous southern border with Mexico, even though the Democrats billed his decision to reopen the government as a win for the political left. On the contrary, Trump is more committed to the issue of border security than ever.
On Friday, the president endorsed a short-term spending bill to end the partial government shutdown which began over a dispute surrounding border wall funding on December 22. Trump had previously threatened to veto any spending bills that didn’t include funding for a border wall.
The Senate later failed to pass two competing bills to end the shutdown on Thursday. Subsequently, the president on Friday announced that he was endorsing a short-term spending bill to end the shutdown. Trump also thanked government employees for their dedication and hard work.
“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the government,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “In a short while, I will sign a bill to reopen the government for three weeks until February 15. I will make sure federal employees receive their back pay very quickly or as soon as possible. It will happen fast.”
Trump announced his support for the short-term spending bill with the record-long shutdown causing increased problems. Hundreds of thousands of furloughed workers missed their second paycheck, airport security has suffered personnel issues, and uncertainty had been created in the economy.
President Donald Trump issued a compromise offer to end the shutdown during a speech on January 19. Senate Republicans brought the proposed deal up in a bill that would exchange border wall funding for deportation protections that cover the immigrant group known as dreamers.
But the bill failed alongside an alternative proposal from the Democrats. [Source: LifeZette]
Trump is going to get his wall, even if he has to declare a national emergency in order to use military funds to build it. If that is the case, it appears that the military will already be in place to begin construction when the time comes.
