Civilian militia groups are reportedly headed to the border to try to help enforce U.S. immigration law as roughly 6,000 immigrants move northward through Mexico.
“We’ll observe and report, and offer aid in any way we can,” the president of the Texas Minutemen, Shannon McGauley, told The Washington Post. “We’ve proved ourselves before, and we’ll prove ourselves again.”
{mosads}McGauley said that the Texas Minutemen have 100 volunteers headed to the border, with more likely on the way. They are reportedly packing coolers, tents, guns and aerial drones for their trip.
“I can’t put a number on it,” he added. “My phone’s been ringing nonstop for the last seven days. You got other militias, and husbands and wives, people coming from Oregon, Indiana. We’ve even got two from Canada.”
The Post noted a Newsweek report, which planning documents the magazine obtained, that the U.S. military is concerned about “unregulated militia members self-deploying to the border in alleged support” of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The documents warn of “incidents of unregulated militias stealing National Guard equipment during deployments” and estimated that 200 militia members could show up at the border.
Trump deployed 5,200 U.S. troops to the border last week and has said that he may send as many as 15,000.
“We have seen them in the past, and when things start getting really busy, we have to make sure to let the community know they’re out there,” the top Border Patrol official at one of the busiest points for illegal crossings told the Post. “But they’re doing that on their own.”