Trump's border deployments could cost $220 million as Pentagon sees no threat from migrant caravan
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's move to deploy troops to the U.S.-Mexico border is so far shaping up to have a cost of $220 million, according to two U.S. defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly.
The initial cost estimate, a figure that could change based on the ultimate size and scope of the mission, comes as nearly 4,000 troops moved to the border Saturday as Trump has repeatedly warned of a caravan of migrants from Central America.
In a briefing Monday, however, the Pentagon said it had no cost estimate at the moment.
In mid-October, a caravan of at least 3,500 Central American migrants seeking asylum left Honduras for the United States border. The caravan is currently in southern Mexico.
Trump has made the caravan one of his prime targets as he campaigns for Republicans down the stretch of the midterm election campaign. The president has referred to the caravan as an "invasion" while claiming that Democrats want open borders, which Democrats deny.
Critics have called the deployment a political stunt. Defense Secretary James Mattis, however, downplayed that criticism last week. "The support that we provide to the secretary for Homeland Security is practical support based on the request from the commissioner of customs and border police. We don't do stunts in this department," he said Wednesday.
A Pentagon risk assessment found that the caravan did not pose a threat to the United States, according to a person with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence. This person also said that the caravan would take about a month and a half to get to the U.S. border.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/05/trump-border-deployments-could-cost-220-million-pentagon-sees-no-caravan-threat.html
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