ever seen before, and they're the bad ones. and it's a military operation. >> listen to this. no. repeat. no use of military force in immigration operations. none. >> the president was using that as an adjective. it's happening with precision and in a manner in which it's being done very clearly. we've made it clear in the past and secretary kelly reiterated what kind of operation this was. the president was describing what kind of manner in which this was being done. >> the president's then dhs and press secretaries qualifying what he called a military operation at the border early last year. fast forward, some 20 months and now there's a full-scale military operation at the border. more than 5,000 troops were sent there to corral the migrant caravan that's arriving soon at the southern border in tijuana as we speak. secretary mattis visited this week calling the mission the best field training exercise possible.