The top US general for homeland security says the influx of illegal immigrants and drugs across the US-Mexico border does not constitute a national emergency, despite claims by President Donald Trump.
“It is not a military threat,” US Air Force General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, the commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, told a Senate committee on Tuesday.
O’Shaughnessy, however, added that does not necessarily mean the military should not be involved in the border mission.
The general’s remarks come as the US Defense Department plans to send hundreds more American troops to the southern border. The current 5,000 troops will expand to roughly 6,000 by March, the Pentagon confirmed last week.
After Congress rejected Trump’s request for $5.7 billion to build a wall on the southern border, the Republican president declared a national emergency to fund the barrier using Pentagon…