“The Obama administration believes there is ‘no doubt’ that the root causes of U.S. border security are a national security concern, a White House official said on Thursday. But President Barack Obama’s nearly $4 billion supplemental request to Congress does not include funding for additional military resources or missions to alleviate those threats at the border or in the Central American countries where the migration of drugs, weapons and humans originates. So far, the official said, there are no active discussions about expanding the military’s role in the region to respond to the crisis,” National Journal reports.  

Said one White House aide: “There’s no doubt that the relentless efforts on the part of traffickers and smugglers to get drugs, people and weapons into the U.S. undetected is a national security concern. This is a multi-faceted issue. While there are national security concerns, it’s not solely a military issue.”  

“But the White House stopped short of endorsing a top U.S. general’s claim, later supported by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, that the crisis was an “existential” threat to U.S. national security.”