U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett has criticized President Trump’s plan to deploy U.S. military personnel to deter an incoming migrant caravan as election-eve pandering to his anti-immigrant base.
Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to release orders that could send 800 or more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to help authorities halt the caravan, according to news reports. But Doggett, a Democrat, said the move is unnecessary and a “shameless” waste of federal funds.
“This is only the election-eve political emergency, not a true national emergency,” said Doggett, who represents parts of San Antonio and Austin. “It’s not about border security, but Trump’s own political insecurity in his fact-free environment. No lie is too big for him to promote.”
Trump has accused the Democrats of initiating the caravan, mostly comprised of Central Americans fleeing crime and political repression, and claimed it may include Middle Eastern terrorists – both without offering any proof.
“A Master of Distraction, Trump hopes that hyperventilating about a diminishing number of mostly Honduran women and children about 1,000 miles away will rally his anti-immigrant base,” Doggett said. “This is a shameless waste of taxpayer dollars.”
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This article appears in Oct 24-30, 2018.
