President Trump said Wednesday he may send as many as 15,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, as he doubled down on threats to the Central American migrant caravan, which has become a major flashpoint in the lead-up to the midterm elections. The number would exceed that of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and is almost triple the number of troops in Iraq. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked if troops at the border would adhere to posse comitatus, meaning armed forces cannot be used in a domestic police role, but Sanders refused to give a definitive answer. This is Trump speaking to reporters Wednesday.

President Donald Trump: “As far as the caravan is concerned, our military is out. We have about five thousand eight [5,800]. We’ll go up to anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 military personnel, on top of Border Patrol, ICE and everybody else at the border. Nobody’s coming in. we’re not allowing people to come in. If you look at what happened in Mexico two days ago with the roughness of these people.”