US President Trump Threatens With Violence Against Migrants

Donald Trump is tightening his tone in the election campaign towards migrants who are on their way to the United States. Now he plans to make their right to asylum more difficult. And also another remark Trump makes sit up.

US President Donald Trump has announced a tough line against migrants who enter the US illegally and seek asylum. On the details of his plans, he remained vague on Thursday. Trump said that migrants seeking asylum needed to do so at one of the border crossings. "Those who choose to break our laws and enter illegally will no longer be able to automatically gain access to our land with unsubstantiated claims."

Trump announced in his White House speech in Washington to sign a decree next week. When asked what this would involve, the Republican remained vague.Whether his plans would be consistent with applicable law, remained initially unclear. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, anyone in the US can seek asylum, whether or not they came in at one of the border crossings.

At present, thousands of people from Central America are in multiple groups heading for Mexico towards the US border. They were on Thursday, however, about 1300 kilometers away from the US as the crow flies.

Thousands of armed soldiers sent to the border

Trump has ordered the Pentagon because of the migrants to send the military to the border. By the end of the week about 5200 soldiers are to be stationed there.Trump has stated that the number could be significantly higher. The soldiers should support the border guard in logistical tasks. Do not arrest migrants. The soldiers are armed.

Trump said Thursday that if the migrants become violent and throw stones, the soldiers will "beat back". He told the military that they should treat stone throws as if the migrants were carrying weapons. He hinted that the soldiers could open fire on humans, but did not explicitly say so.

A spokesman for the Pentagon did not want to comment on details about the use of force on request. The soldiers are "trained professionals" who have the right to defend themselves, he said. He emphasized that the troops were in support of the border guard at the border and that it was the task of the border guards to enforce the legislation.

Trump's campaign maneuvers
The migrants flee from violence by youth gangs and the poor economic situation in the region. Trump makes massive campaigning with them for the congressional elections next Tuesday. He makes use of seditious rhetoric and heavily overstates the situation. The US President speaks of an "invasion" and a threat to US national security. He claimed that among the migrants were also people from the Middle East and thus insinuated unfair motives for their march towards the USA. He did not provide any evidence for that.

Trump said on Thursday that people obviously have no legitimate grounds for seeking asylum for refusing to seek asylum from the Mexican government. "They do not seek protection, because if they did, they could get that from Mexico," he explained. "Mexico has agreed to take them in and encourages them to stay, but they do not want to stay, they want to come to the US, so it's no longer about security - and asylum is about security."

Migrants can apply for asylum in Mexico. There is no guarantee that their application will be granted. According to the Mexican organization "Puebla Sin Fronteras", asylum applications by people from Central America in Mexico are 80 percent rejected.

Mood against refugees:
Trump threatens migrants with 15,000 US soldiers. Trump declared again that he would prevent people from entering the country. He reiterated that they should be detained in tent cities and announced that parents and children should stay there together. Under current law, children must not be held for more than 20 days.

Meanwhile, one of the migrant groups in Mexico changed their route. In a vote, it had been decided to move in the direction of the state of Veracruz, the organization "Pueblo Sin Fronteras" reported on the night to Thursday (local time) on Facebook. The group of estimated 3500 to 5000 people originally wanted to run from the city of Juchitán towards the capital of the state of Oaxaca.

Francis Tawiah (Duisburg - Germany)