Exclusive: Pentagon balked at U.S. border troops building detention facilities - officials

The disclosure by U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, illustrates the tension within the administration over using military resources to fortify the border against illegal immigration, a top election issue for President Donald Trump’s base. Last week, the military announced that over 7,000 troops would go to the border with Mexico as a caravan of Central American migrants slowly heads toward the United States. The U.S. military declined a draft proposal from the Department of Homeland Security last month to build housing for detained migrants during early discussions in the Trump administration about the military’s role on the border, the officials said. By voicing its opposition, the Pentagon helped ensure that its mission was tailored to only providing support to U.S. government personnel on the border, U.S. officials said. Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning told reporters more than 4,800 troops were already deployed near the border as of Monday in support of Operation Faithful Patriot, including 1,100 troops in California, 1,100 in Arizona and 2,600 in Texas. He anticipated that the number of active duty troops could reach 7,000 soon. It was unclear how many of those forces had taken up missions on the border, which will include support tasks like building housing for Customs and Border Protection personnel and erecting barriers...MORE