Troops are to be dispatched to America's border with Mexico to thwart further illegal immigration, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
"I think that it's something that we have to do," the president said in response to a question from a reporter at the afternoon event in the White House East Room.
The president and several cabinet members, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary Kirsten Nielsen, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, received a briefing Tuesday to examine his administration's strategy. The discussion included the mobilization of the National Guard and the need to pressure Congress to urgently pass legislation to close legal loopholes exploited by criminal trafficking, narco-terrorist and smuggling organizations.
The Pentagon responded to Trump's plan to use military to guard the borders.
"We are still consulting with the White House," a senior defense official said, promising more information.
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso said on Twitter his government has asked the United States to clarify Trump's announcement. He wrote Mexico will define its position based on that clarification, and always in defense of its sovereignty and national interests.