Trump suggested shooting migrants in the legs to stop them from crossing the southern border

President Donald Trump floated the possibility of shooting migrants in the legs to slow them down as they approached the border during a meeting in March 2019.<br><br>Trump made the comment in a meeting with his senior immigration advisers after being frustrated that his administration hadn't come up with a plan to stop asylum seekers that met his approval, the New York Times reported.<br><br>In the meeting, Trump suggested that the US military should shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down as they approached the southern border, the Times reported.<br><br>"This was an actual question that he asked the secretary when they were in the Oval, to wit: 'Wouldn’t it be a good idea to had the troops shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down?'” an administration official told the Times.<br><br>Trump suggested the practice to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the meeting, according to the Times.<br><br>Trump also suggested that migrants caught crossing the border should be put in large tents built in the desert and denied access to court.<br><br>"We need to go back to the past—and go back to deterrence," Trump said, according to two officials who spoke to the Times.<br><br>He added: “Following the law is not doing anybody any favors.”<br><br>Trump repeatedly expressed frustration with his immigration officials during his administration.<br><br>He said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shouldn't apprehend migrants who have a 50-50 chance of successfully crossing the border.<br><br>"You don't have to bring them in," Trump said, according to a senior administration official. "Just shoot them in the legs. Cripple them. And they can't walk."<br><br>Trump also suggested allowing Border Patrol agents to pull their weapon on migrants when they approached and threaten to shoot if they didn't stop.<br><br>Trump repeatedly expressed interest in fortifying the southern border with a moat filled with water and snakes and suggested imposing a law requiring migrants caught crossing the border be transported out of the country.<br><br>Trump also offered Nielsen a pardon for breaking immigration law if she imposed stricter border security measures.<br><br>"You should get in there and take charge," Trump told Nielsen, according to two officials who attended the meeting.<br><br>&#x200B;