On Monday, President Donald Trump said that he had given the Department of Homeland Security orders to ensure that any immigrant ‘caravans’ trying to enter the US via the southern border be turned back. Trump announced the decision, as has been his style, via Twitter, simultaneously slamming poor border security and the Democrats for inspiring ‘sanctuary city’ laws.
In a flurry of tweets, the President went on to describe the current immigration laws of the US as a ‘disgrace’ and again called for more funding for the proposed wall on the border between the US and Mexico. Trump added that Mexico has very strong immigration laws but needs to step up and prevent immigrants coming to the US via their border and that such a demand may become a condition of any new NAFTA agreement.
In recent weeks, Trump has warned of caravans of immigrants heading towards the US on multiple occasions, referring to over 1000 Central American immigrants heading to the US border with the intention of claiming political asylum either in the US or in Mexico. Trump has highlighted the situation as a way to call for Congress to enact stricter immigration laws.
The Trump administration has filed lawsuits against sanctuary cities that refuse to allow the enforcement of federal immigration laws by local law enforcement, and the President recently announced that National Guard troops are set to be deployed to the southern border in an order he signed at the start of the month.