Trump to Deploy Military to Southern Border as Refugees Approach

New York City—In response to today’s announcement that President Trump plans to send eight hundred or more troops to the southern border as a caravan of refugees and migrants approaches, Human Rights First’s President and CEO Mike Breen released the following statement:

The approach of a caravan of migrants that includes refugees fleeing persecution and violence is not a crisis. But President Trump is yet again spreading hatred and fear, hoping to score political points by making Americans fear refugees. The president’s decision to deploy the military when civilian border enforcement personnel are able to do the job is a cynical tactic designed to fabricate a sense of emergency as elections approach. The president should not be using the military to further a partisan agenda.

The United States is more than capable of carefully processing a few hundred men, women, and children, and determining who among them have asylum claims that should allow them to live in safety and freedom in this country. The American people know this and see through the president’s naked attempt to sow division and fear.

For more information or to speak with Breen contact Corinne Duffy at 202-370-3319.