The Biden administration plans to send 1,500 active-duty troops to the border in anticipation of a migrant influx.
It is not unique for the United States military to send a large number of troops to the border in support of the Department of Homeland Security. About 2,500 National Guardsmen are stationed at the border right now.
Biden Grapples with Asylum-Seekers at the Border Amid GOP Criticism
As Title 42 expires on May 11, the administration is shifting the focus of the armed forces toward administrative and logistical tasks, allowing Customs and Border Protection agents to return to frontline duties.
For at least the next 90 days, the troops will be stationed at the border without performing any law enforcement duties.
One of the trickiest political difficulties Biden has faced, and one that the GOP has been eager to highlight, is the continued flow of asylum-seekers crossing the border and how to handle it.
Biden campaigned on a platform of being less harsh on immigrants than Trump, who separated families at the border and took other severe actions.
To restrict the influx of people from other countries, Biden has relied on Title 42, which allowed the government to reject asylum petitions on health grounds during the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 10, a day before the expiration of Title 42, troops are expected to arrive.
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New Screening and Deportation Policies
The White House dismissed the plan, calling it typical protocol for dealing with an influx of migrants, while DHS pointed out that troops have backed the department’s work on the border every year since 2006.
New measures have been implemented by the administration to swiftly examine and deport asylum-seekers at the border and to punish those who cross the border illegally from Mexico.
Critics from immigration advocacy groups say the new policies are too close to an earlier Trump proposal that was ruled unconstitutional.
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