McAllen, November 15 (RHC)-- U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited the U.S. border area with Mexico near McAllen, Texas, on Wednesday – meeting some of the thousands of troops deployed there by the U.S. president last month. 

Nearly 6,000 active-duty troops are currently stationed in Texas, California and Arizona, following Trump’s escalating attacks against the Central American caravans heading toward the U.S.-Mexico border in the run-up to the midterm elections last week. 

According to some reports, the border deployments could cost $220 million, despite the fact the Pentagon reportedly does not see the caravans as a risk.  Mattis’s visit follows the Trump administration’s announcement of new immigration rules to deny asylum to anyone who enters the country outside of a port of entry.