Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he’s been given new authority to allow U.S. troops wider latitude in supporting civilian agencies protecting the Southwest border, but he says as of now the support mission of the military has not changed.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Mattis acknowledged that under current rules for the use of force, the U.S. military is allowed to defend itself and others involved in the mission. That could mean active-duty troops could be called on to back up Customs and Border Protection forces if migrants at the border engage in violence.
Asked what that backup might look like, Mattis replied, “Probably MPs [Military Police], unarmed MPs with shields, batons. No firearms.”
Mattis said there were no plans for U.S. troops to be used to arrest or detain migrants who might cross the border illegally, except for perhaps briefly in order to turn them over to civilian authorities.
“I would put it in terms of minutes,” Mattis said. “In other words, if someone’s beating on a border patrolman — and if we were in position to have to do something about it — we could stop them from beating on them and take them over and deliver them to a patrolman who would then arrest them for it.”
Mattis said he received a letter Tuesday night, signed by White House chief of staff John Kelly, granting him increased authority. But Mattis said he has not made any decision to expand or extend the mission beyond its current end date of Dec. 15.
While Mattis called the situation along the U.S.-Mexico border “dynamic” and said the continued deployment of U.S. troops would be “mission-dependent,” he also said he has no intent of changing the mission right now.
“First of all, the secretary of homeland security has to ask me to do stuff. I mean I now have the authority to do more. Now we’ll see what she asks me for,” Mattis said.
Mattis gave the number of U.S. deployed in the counter-caravan mission as 5,764 federal troops, and an additional 2,100 National Guard troops under state control.
Mattis said he expects that some, but not all, of the troops would be home for Christmas.
It all depends on what the DHS asks for, he said. “If they say they want additional miles of [barbed] wire, then that’s going to take additional time.”
And he said the Pentagon’s preliminary cost estimate of $72 million for the deployment would no doubt grow.
“I am confident that number will go up,” he said.
