'Cities of tents': Trump heightens anti-immigrant rhetoric at White House

Donald Trump has stepped up his rhetorical attack over immigration ahead of next week’s midterm elections, using a White House address on Thursday to float what is possibly an unconstitutional clampdown on asylum-seekers – and hinted that even people throwing stones while at the US border could be targeted with military firepower. In a session lasting almost an hour in the Roosevelt Room, Trump talked tough on immigration but failed to deliver much in the way of specifics. White House aides had previously billed the event inaccurately as a policy announcement. In lurid language that resembled one of his rally speeches more than a presidential address, he vowed to prevent the “violent” Central American migrant caravan heading to the southern border from “invading” the country. He said a comprehensive executive order would be released next week, though it was not clear what it would contain. Instead, he made vague pledges that thousands would be held indefinitely in “massive cities of tents” apparently now being built at the border with military assistance. He also implied that in future asylum seekers would only be able to petition the US for safe haven by approaching designated border posts. In echoes of his divisive rally speeches this election cycle, he pledged to detain those crossing the border unlawfully, rather than using the system known by the stark term “catch and release”, where migrants are released into the community after apprehension, pending their court case. “We are not releasing any more. Big change, as of a couple of days ago … we are going to catch but we are not going to release, they are going to stay with us until the hearing takes place,” he said. His most inflammatory remarks concerned the actions of US troops at the border, with 5,200 already deployed and possibly 10,000 more to follow. Trump was asked whether they might fire on migrants, and he replied: “I hope not.” Then he added: “Anybody throwing stones, rocks … we will consider that a firearm because there’s not much difference when you get hit in the face with a rock.” He went on: “They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back. We’ll consider – and I told them – consider it a rifle. When they throw rocks like they did at the Mexico military and police, I say consider it a rifle.”