Trump warns to use troops to build ‘human wall’ on Mexico border

US President Donald Trump has ramped up his rhetoric about a wall along the US southern border with Mexico, saying his administration would build a "human wall" along the US-Mexico border if it cannot construct a physical barrier.

Trump warned in a tweet on Tuesday that he would use the military and thousands more soldiers to form “a human wall” on the southwest border if Democrats rejected his demands for border security funding.

“Tremendous numbers of people are coming up through Mexico in the hopes of flooding our Southern Border,” Trump tweeted. “We have sent additional military. We will build a Human Wall if necessary. If we had a real Wall, this would be a non-event!”

Trump’s tweet came days after the Pentagon announced the deployment of approximately 3,750 more active-duty troops at the US border with Mexico, bringing the total number to about 4,350. The troops will remain for at least 90 days while they assist Customs and Border Protection, conduct surveillance and install barbed wire fences.

PressTV-US sending 3,750 additional troops to Mexico border

The Pentagon confirms that it is deploying thousands of additional troops to the US border with Mexico.

The US president is expected to highlight the issue of border security as well as his demand for funds to construct a wall during his State of the Union address later on Tuesday.

The issue of security on the border has been central to Trump’s discourse since he began campaigning for presidency. He has vocally called for the creation of a wall on the frontier, saying the migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Mexico would lead to a rise in crime in the US if allowed in.

Congress refusal to provide Trump with the $5.7 billion he needs to build the wall resulted in the longest government shutdown in the US. On January 25, the president signed legislation to temporarily end the 35-day partial government shutdown, dropping his previous insistence on immediate funding for wall construction.

PressTV-Trump signs bill ending longest US government shutdown

President Donald Trump has signed legislation to reopen shuttered government departments for three weeks.

Democrats have called the wall unnecessary and accused Trump of trying to create the illusion of a security crisis on the border.

The American head of state agreed to reopen the government for three weeks without border money and a bipartisan group of lawmakers is currently working to reach a deal on border security funding and find a compromise to avert another shutdown on February 15.

The government closure also delayed the annual State of the Union address, originally scheduled for January 29 until February 5.

Trump has previously threatened to declare a national emergency if he fails to get money for the border wall, which was one of his central campaign promises.

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