US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's first trip since taking office will be to the Mexican border today, in another signal that strengthening it will be a priority for the Pentagon and President Donald Trump, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Trump has increasingly turned to the military for help in implementing his migration-related agenda, including sending reinforcements to the border, using military aircraft to deport migrants and opening military bases to house them.
„The US president wants 100 percent operational control of the border – and we will provide it“, Hegseth wrote last night on the social network “Ex“, after announcing his trip.
On Saturday, Trump declared a national emergency, citing the “extraordinary threat“ from fentanyl and illegal migration, and imposed tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as additional tariffs on goods from China, Reuters recalls.
Last week, the Republican president announced that he was expanding the capacity of the detention center at the US naval base “Guantanamo“ in Cuba to 30,000 people.
The Pentagon has also begun operating flights to deport more than 5,000 migrants held by US authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.