Trump says he wants to send at least 2,000 National Guard troops to the southern border

Donald Trump speaks with reporters on Thursday.
(Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump told reporters on Air Force One Thursday evening that he wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard troops to the border with Mexico.

On Wednesday, Trump signed a memorandum to deploy the National Guard, saying "the security of the United States is imperiled by a drastic surge of illegal activity on the southern border," but didn't share any numbers until Thursday. Trump also said his administration is "looking" at how much it will cost to send so many troops to the border, adding, "we'll probably keep them or a large portion of them" until a border wall is built.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.