美防長將視察美墨邊界

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is due to visit the U.S. southern border Wednesday, where thousands of American troops have been deployed to support border patrol agents.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon, Mattis said there has been “no change” to the U.S. military mission “at this time.”

"We're doing the obstacle emplacement, we do have helicopters down there,” he said. “We will have to see what the future holds, but right now that is the only mission I have.”

President Donald Trump called for increased border security to prevent a caravan of asylum-seeking migrants from Central America from entering the United States, declaring on several occasions its approach constituted a "national emergency."

More than 5,600 active duty troops and another 2,100 National Guard troops have moved into the U.S.-Mexico border area due to requests for help from the Department of Homeland Security.

A U.S. defense official told VOA Mattis will visit McAllen, Texas, where about 1,000 U.S. troops are deployed.

The U.S. troops assigned to help with border security are legally prohibited from engaging in domestic law enforcement, such as arresting migrants crossing the border.美國國防部長馬蒂斯週三前往美國南部邊境，那裏已部署了數千名美軍，以支援邊防巡邏人員。

馬蒂斯星期二在五角大樓對記者說，目前“美軍任務”“沒有改變”。

他說，“我們正在佈置邊界隔離障，我們在那裏有直升機，”他說，“我們要看未來會怎樣，但現在這是我唯一的任務。”

美國總統特朗普呼籲加強邊境安全，以防止尋求庇護的中美洲移民大軍進入美國，併爲此數次宣佈這種來美方式帶來“國家緊急狀態”。

應國土安全部的請求，現有5,600名軍人和另外2,100名國民警衛隊隊員已進入美國邊境地區。

一名美國國防官員告訴美國之音，馬蒂斯將視察德克薩斯州的麥卡倫，那裏部署了大約1000名美軍。

美國法律禁止被派往邊境提供安全保障的美國軍隊參與國內執法，例如逮捕過境的移民等。