President Donald Trump threatened Monday to close the southern U.S. border “permanently” unless Mexico sends asylum seekers back to their homes.
The president, who has deployed troops and authorized use of lethal force to stop a massive caravan of immigrants from Central America approaching the U.S.-Mexico border, tweeted his vow to restrict access into the country:
“Mexico should move the flag waving Migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the U.S.A. We will close the Border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL!”
Border Patrol agents on Sunday fired tear gas at migrants who tried to rush through a border fence at the San Ysidro crossing that links San Diego to Tijuana, Mexico — an action taken “because of the risk to agents’ safety,” the agency tweeted.