Donald Trump Proposes To Use Military To Secure US-Mexico Border Until Wall Is Built

Cover Image: US President Donald Trump speaking in Japan (Credit: PA Images)

US president Donald Trump has said he wants to use the military to secure the US-Mexico border until his promised border wall is built.

Frustrated by the slow action on a major campaign promise, Mr Trump told reporters he has been discussing the idea with Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

"We're going to be doing things militarily. Until we can have a wall and proper security, we're going to be guarding our border with the military," Mr Trump said, calling the move a "big step."

It was not immediately clear exactly how the proposal would work or what kind of troops Mr Trump wanted to deploy. The White House later said Trump wanted to mobilise the National Guard.

Federal law prohibits the use of active-duty service members for law enforcement inside the US, unless specifically authorised by Congress. But over the past 12 years, presidents have twice sent National Guard troops to the border to bolster security and assist with surveillance and other support.

Mexico has asked for clarification and its Foreign Minister, Luis Videgaray Caso, says the country's migration policy won't be influenced by threats.  

Mr Trump has been annoyed by the lack of progress on building what was the signature promise of his campaign: a "big, beautiful wall" along the Mexican border.

On Tuesday he met with top administration officials to discuss the administration's strategy to address what White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders described as "the growing influx of illegal immigration, drugs and violent gang members from Central America."

In addition to mobilising the National Guard, Mr Trump and senior officials "agreed on the need to pressure Congress to urgently pass legislation to close legal loopholes exploited by criminal trafficking, narco-terrorist and smuggling organisations," Ms Sanders said.

The meeting and comments came amid a flurry of tweets by the president on the subject over the last several days.

Mr Trump has been fixated on the issue since he signed a spending bill last month that includes far less money for the wall than he had hoped for.