Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Trump Plans to Deploy Troops to Mexican Border to Thwart Immigrants by Ken Bredemeier U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he plans to send military troops to guard the U.S.-Mexican border to thwart further illegal immigration into the United States. Speaking at a White House luncheon with Baltic leaders, Trump said that after consulting with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, "We're going to do some things militarily, until we can have a wall and proper security. We're going to be guarding our border with the military. That's a big step." There was no immediate indication of the size of the U.S. military contingent Trump plans to deploy, where or how soon. For several days now, Trump has posted anti-immigration remarks on his Twitter account, voicing concerns about a caravan of 1,100 Central American migrants walking north through Mexico toward the U.S., where some had vowed to cross the border and seek asylum in the United States. Hours after Mexico acted late Monday to disperse the caravan and offer some of the migrants refugee status, Trump warned Mexico that its free trade agreement with the United States would be jeopardized if it did not stop the caravan before it reached the border with the U.S. "We cannot have people flowing into our country illegally, disappearing, and by the way -- never showing up for court" for deportation hearings, Trump said. "I told Mexico -- and I respect what they did -- I said, 'Look, your laws are very powerful, your laws are very strong. We have very bad laws for our border, and we are going to be doing some things,'" Trump said. As in his tweets, Trump blamed former president Barack Obama, saying the previous leader had "made changes that basically created no border," particularly "catch-and-release" policies, where migrants have been freed on a promise to show up for later deportation hearings. Trump also tweeted a warning to Mexico. The U.S. leader said the "cash cow" North American Free Trade Agreement among the U.S., Mexico and Canada "is in play, as is foreign aid to Honduras and the countries that allow this to happen." U.S. laws, 'loopholes' Trump administration officials said they are drafting new legislation aimed at closing what they see as immigration "loopholes." The changes would allow for the immediate deportation of children arriving at the U.S. border while traveling alone, rather than allowing them to engage in lengthy deportation hearings before an immigration judge, as is now the case. The administration also wants to end a two-decade-old court settlement that calls for the U.S. to release migrating children from custody to their parents or other caregivers while they await deportation hearings. Officials said the children often have assimilated into life in the U.S. and failed to show up at their deportation hearings. Late Monday, Trump tweeted, "As ridiculous as it sounds, the laws of our country do not easily allow us to send those crossing our Southern Border back where they came from." The fate of any Trump immigration proposals in Congress would be uncertain at best. Lawmakers have been deadlocked for years over immigration policies. Most recently, Congress balked at Trump's call for construction of a $20 billion border wall on the U.S.-Mexican line to thwart the entry of more illegal migrants and was unable to reach an agreement with the president over whether to protect as many as 1.8 million young people from deportation -- migrants brought illegally into the country years ago by their parents. The recently approved $1.3 trillion spending measure funding government operations through September included $1.6 billion for border security along the U.S.-Mexican line, but that money can be used only to repair existing segments of barriers, not to build new sections. Mexico's response A statement late Monday from the Mexican interior and foreign affairs ministries noted the caravans made up largely of people from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have made similar trips since 2010 calling attention to migrant rights, particularly those fleeing dangerous situations at home in search of protection elsewhere. "Mexico's migration policy is a sovereign one, through which it seeks to ensure legal, safe and orderly migration with full respect for people's rights," the statement said. "Under no circumstances does the Mexican government promote irregular migration." The ministries said that due to Mexican law, authorities have sent 400 caravan members back to their home countries. The caravan of about 1,100 people was organized by Pueblo Sin Fronteras (People without Borders), which on Monday called the asylum processes in the United States and Mexico "punitive and unjust." Two smaller caravans reached the United States last year. Gina Garibo, a spokesperson for the group, told VOA it is an organization that fights alongside the migrants in order to battle for their rights. Alex Mensing, one of the group's coordinators, said on Twitter that those in the caravan pressured Mexico "into conceding permission to travel to places where they can seek asylum." Pueblo Sin Fronteras also highlighted the number of Hondurans in the group, saying their presence was the result of political crises in the region "provoked in large part by the policies of the U.S. government." After Trump's Monday tweets, Mexican interior minister Alfonso Navarrete Prida said, "It is absolutely incorrect to say that Mexico is not making an effort" to control illegal migration. He said Mexico has been following the course of the caravan, but rejected pressure from the United States. "Of course we will act, let me be clear, in strict compliance with our migration laws, without accepting pressure from any country or anyone," he said. Cristina Caicedo Smit contributed to this report.