Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in an interview with Fox News on Thursday warned migrants traveling in the caravan headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border that if anyone crosses illegally, “you will be returned home.”
“Once they’re on this side of the border, what we intend to do – and I think the President’s been very clear – if you do not have a legal right to come to this country and you come in this caravan, you will be returned home," said Nielsen.
When asked what will happen if caravan members force themselves across the border, Nielsen said that they “will be apprehended.”
On whether Border Patrol agents will shoot if shot at, Nielsen stopped short of saying they would return fire but did say that they will defend themselves.
“We will absolutely not tolerate violence against Border Patrol in this situation,” she said.
As to rules of engagement, Nielsen said on the department's end that things remain the same but that DHS is “in discussions” with the Department of Defense, which, at the order of Defense Secretary James Mattis, is expected to deploy 800 additional troops to the border.
Mattis is expected to sign deployment orders as soon as Thursday that could send 800 additional troops to the border in anticipation for the caravan’s arrival, as MRCTV reported.
“[T]he troops most likely will not be making direct contact with the migrant caravan themselves, and that if they are carrying weapons, they will be used solely for self-defensive purposes,” MRCTV writes.
"This deployment is separate from an ongoing National Guard effort along the border to support border authorities with technical assistance," reports CNN. "That mission has approximately 4,000 personnel authorized but only 2,100 are currently in place according to the Pentagon."
President Trump has made it clear that the caravan will not force itself across the border like it did from Central America into Mexico.
“It won’t happen,” Trump said at a rally in Wisconsin Wednesday night, MRCTV reported. “We can’t let them in. Those that cross our borders and violate our laws illegally will be sent back home quickly.”
He tweeted on Thursday, “Go back to your Country and if you want, apply for citizenship like millions of others are doing!”
The migrant caravan originated in Honduras and is now making its way through Mexico toward the U.S. It is reported to be approximately 1,000 miles away from the border.
The caravan has grown to over 7,000 people and the number of migrants only seems to be climbing.