MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency at the southern border to prevent the illegal entry of cartels, criminal gangs, terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males and illicit narcotics from foreign countries into the United States.
After signing one of a set of executive orders he signed after his inauguration Monday, Trump said he will send troops to the southern border 'to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.'
Considering the gravity and emergency of the situation, he has directed the Armed Forces to take full operational control of the southern border.
The Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security have been urged to take immediate steps to construct additional physical barriers along the southern border.
The Department of Homeland Security has been given the authority to counter unmanned aerial systems within 5 miles of the southern border.
The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security have been required to submit a joint report to the President about the conditions at the southern border within 90 days.
Trump also signed an order declaring Mexican drug cartels terrorist organizations.
He said illegal immigration over the last 4 years has led to the murders of many innocent American citizens, including women and children. 'Foreign criminal gangs and cartels have begun seizing control of parts of cities, attacking our most vulnerable citizens, and terrorizing Americans beyond the control of local law enforcement. Cartels control vast territories just south of our southern border, effectively controlling who can and cannot travel to the United States from Mexico. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have tragically died from drug overdoses because of the illicit narcotics that have flowed across the southern border'.
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