1 of 6 | The Biden Administration said Tuesday that it would deploy an additional 1,500 troops to the U.S. Mexico border to deal with a migrant surge. Similar action has happened before, such as in 2018 (pictured) when soldiers from Fort Riley, Kan., took part in immigration-related missions along the southern border. Photo courtesy of Alexandra Minor/U.S. Air Force |
License Photo
May 2 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden is sending 1,500 more troops to the southern border to help support immigration authorities who fear a surge of migrants next week when Title 42 migration policies end, according to the Department of Defense.
The active-duty troops will be stationed there for 90 days and will be responsible for assisting with transportation, administrative duties, narcotics detection, data entry, and warehouse support, Brigadier Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in a Tuesday afternoon briefing at the Pentagon.
The additional troops, whose deployment was ordered by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, will not be performing law-enforcement work, Ryder said, adding they "will fill critical capability gaps."
"And while this request is for 90 days, I would point out that [the Department of Defense] has supported [Homeland Security] on the southwest border for 18 of the last 22 years and every year since 2006," Ryder said.
"This deployment to the border is consistent with other forms of military support to DHS over many years," he said.
That sentiment was echoed by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during a Tuesday press briefing.
Calling it "a common practice," Jean-Pierre said, "They will not be performing law enforcement functions or interacting with immigrants or migrants. This will free up Border Patrol agents to perform their critical law enforcement duties."
Officials are expecting an increase in border crossings once they can no longer expel migrants under Title 42, which was a public health restriction enacted in March 2020. It is set to expire on May 11.
Former President Donald Trump previously approved additional troops to the border in early 2019. In October, Austin approved a deployment of 2,500 troops, who remain there now.
According to CBS News, Troy Miller, the top official at Customs and Border Protection, recently told Congress that his agency is preparing for as many as 10,000 migrants to cross the southern border every day after the end of Title 42. That number would double the daily average in March.
In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security renewed its call for more technology investment so that it did not have to rely on troops.
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection is investing in technology and personnel to reduce its need for DoD support in coming years, and we continue to call on Congress to support us in this task," the DHS said.
