Donald Trump has vowed to get tough on illegal immigration (Image: Getty)
Donald Trump is considering sending 10,000 soldiers to the US-Mexico border as part of a huge immigration crackdown, according to a leaked internal memo.
As part of his promise to tackle the issue of illegal immigrants coming into America from the south, the newly returned US president has already pledged to continue building the border wall.
But according to the new memo, Mr Trump is now considering bolstering troop numbers along the border significantly.
The US president has already ordered 1,500 soldiers to the border to install barriers – though a military source claimed they would not be involved in “law enforcement”.
However, the new government memo that details ideas for Mr Trump’s crackdown on immigration suggests these numbers will soon be swelled significantly, with up to 10,000 soldiers deployed.
Security measures are being increased at the Border Wall in El Paso, Texas (Image: Getty)
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The Customs and Border Protection memo is dated January 21 – one day after Mr Trump’s inauguration.
It shows a plan to dispatch “10,000 soldiers” to help the agency.
The initial boost of 1,500 soldiers to San Diego, in California, and El Paso, in Texas, will join the 2,500 soldiers already stationed at the border.
But the memo also reveals that US Department of Defense bases could be used as “holding facilities” for migrants waiting to be deported.
Hours after being sworn in as president, Mr Trump declared a national emergency at the border with Mexico, saying “America’s sovereignty is under attack”.
Immigration was also a key campaign promise of Mr Trump’s and he has made repeated vows to seal the border and increase enforcement.
In his first sit-down interview since returning to the White House, Mr Trump again returned to the subject.
He claimed that “prisons from all over the world have been emptied out into our country”. During the election, he said a spike in illegal border crossings under the Biden administration meant thousands of convicted murderers had entered the US.
In the same interview, Mr Trump doubled down when pressed on his decision to pardon Capitol rioters, including ones who admitted to violently attacking police officers.
He said: “I said I was gonna release them, and probably very quickly. And they voted for me. I won in a landslide.”
He also made light of ‘s last-minute pre-emptive pardons of various family members, saying it was a “sad thing” the outgoing president “didn’t give himself a pardon”.
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