Armed groups on the US-Mexico border want to help US President-elect Donald Trump with his plan to expel migrants from the country. Armed civilian groups patrolling the region in search of illegal migrants are hopeful that they will be asked to officially join Trump’s immigration agenda. It is reported that around 200 armed groups are operating at the border to catch migrants. It is noted that armed groups on the border were first established in the 1980s and have increased their activities especially in the last 10 years.
The groups are united by a far-right ideology and a belief that they are protecting the integrity of the country against an “invasion of immigrants.”
The members of these organizations range from veterans, retired soldiers and former intelligence officers to radical right-wingers who sympathize with conspiracy theories.
The elected president claims that he will deport all illegal immigrants, whose number is 11 million according to official figures, while Trump says this number could be as high as 25 million.
The Mexican newspaper El Pais also writes that some border militias receive support from local law enforcement in southern border states such as Arizona and Texas.
