Mexico Will Not Use Military Force to Deal With Influx of Migrants

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Mexico has no intention of deploying its troops to curb the influx of migrants arriving at the country's border with the United States, the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Our country will not deploy its military to solve the problem. However, the border crossings that people stormed while trying to illegally enter the United States will be reinforced," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, no casualties have been registered among migrants following their attempt to illegally enter the United States, and the situation at the border is under control.

"With the help of the [Mexican] National Institute of Migration, people whose participation in these acts of violence [on the US border] has been fully proven will be immediately deported," the ministry added.

The statement comes after a group of around 500 migrants attempted to storm the US border from the Mexican city of Tijuana on 25 November. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service said that several asylum-seekers had thrown projectiles at the border patrol, which prompted the US authorities to use tear gas to disperse the crowd. Media reported that the CBP also fired rubber bullets at the migrants.

READ MORE: WATCH: Migrants Storm US-Mexico Border, Rubber Bullets Fired by Border Control

As of now, more than 8,200 migrants from various Central American countries have reached Mexico, with around 7,400 of them staying near the cities of Tijuana and Mexicali, located right on the border with the United States, the ministry specified. Around 2,000 migrants have agreed to return to their countries of origin with the help of the Mexican authorities.

Meanwhile, the United States has ordered the deployment of 5,900 active-duty troops to the southern border to prevent migrants from crossing it, with the White House later saying that the soldiers had been authorised to use lethal force if necessary.