© Reuters / Loren ElliottTexas National Guard troops on the Mexico-U.S. border at Sergeant Tomas Garces Texas Army National Guard Armory in Weslaco, Texas, U.S., April 12, 2018. Reuters / Loren Elliott
The US military has said that its troops deployed to the Mexico border to help stop a migrant caravan from entering the US will not tackle migrants. The troops will be mainly assisting in building barricades and barracks.
Far from stopping a tide of weary refugees with cruel live fire, US troops sent to the southern border aren't even supposed to come into physical contact with caravan migrants, says Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford.
"There is no plan for US military forces to be involved in the actual mission of denying people entry to the United States," Dunford said during his remarks at Duke University on Monday.
The general assured his audience that there was "no plan for the soldiers to come in contact with immigrants or to reinforce the Department of Homeland Security as they are conducting their mission."
The primary tasks of the active-duty 5,200-strong contingent, expected to grow to 7,000 in the coming days, will be construction and engineering, Pentagon officials said.
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