A small New Mexico border town once attacked by Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa is rejecting talk of a wall and troops while embracing its legacy to draw tourists.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has cited Villa's 1916 raid of Columbus as an example of why President Donald Trump was deploying active-duty troops along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The deployment comes as thousands of migrants fleeing gang violence and poverty in Central America head toward the U.S.