President Donald Trump is threatening to close the US border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines that its southern ally has lost “control” on its side.
The repeated threat, which came on Thanksgiving Day in the US, is in response to thousands of migrants and refugees who have arrived in the border town of Tijuana, many hoping to apply for asylum.
"If we find that it's uncontrollable," Trump said, "we will close entry into the country for a period of time until we can get it under control. The whole border."
Authority to use lethal force
The president also deployed thousands of troops to the border, and this week gave the US defence chief expanded powers to use the military to protect US Border Patrol agents. On Thursday, Trump confirmed that he gave troops the "ok" to use lethal force against migrants and refugees "if they have to", even though there have been no signs of violence towards US authorities.
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