Trump press conference: President announces 'violence' from caravan will be met with radical military response
Remarks come as caravan of refugees and migrants makes its way slowly to the US-Mexico border
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has suggested stone-throwing migrants making it to the US-Mexico border might be shot by the US military, as he unveiled a proposal to limit the right to apply for asylum.
In a speech at the White House filled with several falsehoods, the president said he was seeking to limit asylum claims only to those who applied at legal entry points. He claimed the move was necessary because a series of migrant caravans – still up to a 1,000 miles from the border – was considered by some people to be “an invasion”.
“Asylum is not a programme for those living in poverty. There are billions of people in the world living at the poverty level. The United States cannot possibly absorb them all,” he said.
Mr Trump has ramped up his tough stance on illegal immigration, an issue that appeals to his core supporters, before crucial midterm elections on Tuesday that will decide if his Republican Party keep control of Congress.
“Asylum is a very specific protection based on those fleeing persecution.”
The migrants making their way northwards have come largely from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, all of which suffer from poverty and high levels of violence.
He said some had thrown stones at, and attacked Mexican police and troops – a reference to clashes between Mexican security forces and up to 1,500 migrants at the Guatemala-Mexico border, that left one migrant dead. Meanwhile, even as the number of migrants attached to the original caravan continues to dwindle, a third group of around 500 migrants from El Salvador entered Guatemala last weekend.
“I hope there won’t be that. But I will tell you this, anybody throwing stones, rocks like they did to Mexico … Where they badly hurt police and soldiers of Mexico – we will consider that a firearm,” the president said.
“Because there’s not much difference when you get hit in the face with a rock.”
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He now talks about the threat of drugs through the southern border - a refrain he has used since his presidential campaign in 2016.
He knows it plays well to his base - as does references to "human traffickers" who Mr Trump calls "scum of the Earth".
Mr Trump says the second caravan is full of "unbelievably tough" people - again no evidence.
He claims they are "rushing" the border.
He says Democrats will "offer them free healthcare" etc - again, not true.
A reference to the building of the "wall" at the Mexico border, it was one of Mr Trump's big campaign promises.
Here is the plan: anyone coming in to claim asylum will have to "present themselves "legally at a port of entry". No longer will those entering illegally be able to apply for asylum.
Mr Trump says they are working on the plan, no suggestion from Mr Trump whether he will actually be able to change current rules.
Currently, the Immigration and Nationality Act states that any immigrant in the United States may apply for asylum, regardless of whether he or she entered the country through a designated port of entry.
"We will defend our borders, we will defend our country," Mr Trump ends his statement.
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