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-Land of the Free
'Troop deployment creates tense atmosphere on US border
2018-11-03
Translation: The Troop Deployment is already working.
[AP] BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) ‐ As the first active-duty military troops sent to the U.S. border with Mexico installed coils of razor wire on a bridge and a riverbank Friday, a sense of unease spread across Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.

President Donald Trump’s portrayal of a border under siege by drug smugglers and other criminals is at odds with what residents in towns along the 1,954-mile (3,126-kilometer) divide with Mexico see in their daily routines, with U.S. border towns consistently ranking among the safest in the country.

Some Valley residents question the need for a large military presence and fear it will tarnish the area’s image. And some are afraid of violence if and when the caravan of Central American migrants that the troops have been sent to confront reaches the U.S. border.

While the southern tip of Texas is the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, border agents make many arrests far from public view, on uninhabited banks of the Rio Grande and on nearby dirt paths and roads lined by thick brush.

"I feel safer here than when I go up to bigger cities," lifelong Rio Grande Valley resident Emmanuel Torres said Friday while working at a coffee shop in Brownsville, the region’s largest city, with about 200,000 people.

Torres, 19, said the area feels "a lot like family," and he worries the military presence will fuel outsiders’ perceptions of a dysfunctional border.

"People that don’t live here are just going to create a bigger negative image," Torres said.

When Trump pledged this week to send up to 15,000 troops to the border in response to the slow-moving caravan of migrants, he unnerved the economically struggling region of 1 million people that stretches over flat, sun-drenched citrus groves and farms of cotton, sugar cane and vegetables.
Posted by:Besoeker

#10  And Ay-Pee reporters. But Injun Bucket already said that.
Posted by: Bobby on the road   2018-11-03 20:31  

#9  Its not the troops that create the tense atmosphere, its the fucking illegal caravan of invaders and criminals that do. The only people "tense" from our troops deploying are those same criminals and their criminal supporters
Posted by: Injun Bucket8891   2018-11-03 16:10  

#8  People involved in human trafficking worried about economic impact of troops on the border. Anti-sovereignty movement declares setback in elimination of the United States.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2018-11-03 14:07  

#7  I'm still staying with Anti Aircraft guns for border protection from mobs, worked for awhile against the Chi Coms in Korea.....just sayin'
Posted by: 746   2018-11-03 12:59  

#6  Golly — so much concern about feelings and perceptions without reporting a single fact except the community safety ranking (made by someone unnamed based on factors unlisted). Award-winning journalism there, Ay Pee.
Posted by: trailing wife   2018-11-03 12:31  

#5  Are they worried that the troops will wipe out the beer supply?
Posted by: james   2018-11-03 12:01  

#4  "critics say...", Raj
Posted by: Frank G   2018-11-03 11:31  

#3  Some Valley residents question the need for a large military presence and fear it will tarnish the area’s image.

Funny how they only quote one person who didn't even explicitly 'question the need for a large military presence', then extrapolated that one quote to 'Some Valley residents...'. The Associated Press, everybody!
Posted by: Raj   2018-11-03 10:58  

#2  ... and vegetables.

That's a harsh name for Dem supporters!
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839   2018-11-03 10:38  

#1  ....and he worries the military presence will fuel outsiders’ perceptions of a dysfunctional border.

Sit down for a couple of minutes Manny and I will explain.
Posted by: Besoeker   2018-11-03 07:32  

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