Trump threatens to shut down US-Mexico border

US President Donald Trump has renewed a threat to shut down the entire US border with Mexico as part of his administration's efforts to deter the entry of Central American migrants.

"If we find that it gets to a level where we are going to lose control or where people are going to start getting hurt, we will close entry into the country for a period of time until we can get it under control," Trump told reporters on Thursday in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Xinhua reported.

"I mean the whole border," he said. "Mexico will not be able to sell their cars into the US where they make so many cars."

A group of migrants, many of whom say they are fleeing persecution, poverty and violence in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, are making their way through Central America towards the US border for weeks. Many of them want to claim asylum.

More than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, according to reports.

Thousands of US troops have been deployed along the country's southern border with Mexico to help strengthen border security while offering only engineering, logistic and medical support.

However, Trump said on Thursday he has given the troops the "OK" to use lethal force against migrants "if they have to".

--IANS

pgh/