Military will use lethal force at Mexico border if needed - Trump

Published time: 22 Nov, 2018 15:33Edited time: 22 Nov, 2018 16:17

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© Reuters/Adrees Latif

US President Donald Trump has given troops permission to use lethal force if needed at the border with Mexico, adding that there could be a government shutdown next month over border security.

Trump's statements come just one day after US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he had been granted authority to allow troops to exhibit greater power to help protect border officials.

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Around 5,800 active duty troops have been sent to the US-Mexico border to bolster defenses ahead of the expected arrival of a migrant caravan consisting mostly of Hondurans.

It comes just days after a judge temporarily blocked Trump's order to ban Central American migrants who entered the US illegally from applying for asylum. The US president has repeatedly referred to the migrant caravan as an "invasion" and argued that it contains "hardened criminals." 

Earlier this month, Trump went so far as to state that when migrants throw rocks at border agents, they should consider it the same as a firearm attack. "Consider it a rifle," he said. "When they throw rocks like they did at the Mexico military police, consider it a rifle."

However, he tried to walk back that statement the very next day, saying that if agents or soldiers "are going to be hit in the face with rocks, we're going to arrest those people. That doesn't mean shoot them."