The Biden administration is sending 1,500 active-duty U.S. troops to the southern border, sources confirmed to Fox News.
The troops, coming from a variety of active duty Army units, will serve for 90 days in mostly administrative and transport roles to free up law enforcement and Border Patrol, two senior U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations said.
The deployment is similar to those ordered by former President Donald Trump and the White House has said it is not inconsistent with support to the border going back to the George W. Bush administration. The troops will be armed for self–defense but will not assist with law enforcement.
The move comes amid concerns that tens of thousands of migrants will surge into the country once Title 42 is lifted, a public health order that allows for the rapid removal of migrants at the border due to the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic.
CBP statistics show that only about 46% of migrant encounters at the border resulted in a Title 42 expulsion, while Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified to Senate lawmakers last month that of the nearly 1.3 million migrants in FY 2022 who were processed via Title 8, only about 360,000 were deported.
The Biden administration is encouraging migrants to use the CBP One app to schedule appointments at points of entry where their asylum claims can be processed. The administration has also developed a new asylum rule that will bar migrants from being eligible to claim asylum if they have crossed into the U.S. illegally, have not scheduled an appointment via the CBP One app, and have not claimed asylum in a country through which they previously passed.
Mayorkas has stressed that the “presumption of ineligibility“ will be rebuttable and there are exemptions made for some people. However, the rule has angered some Democrats and immigration activists who claim it is similar to the Trump–era transit ban and that it encroaches on the right of anyone from anywhere in the world to claim asylum at the U.S. border.
In preparation for the end of Title 42, the Biden administration is also reportedly preparing to hold “credible fear“ screenings – the first step in claiming asylum – for migrants in CBP facilities and is working with legal service providers to provide access to legal services.
The reality of the government‘s response to the migrant crisis has sparked criticism and comparisons of Biden to Trump. The deployment of troops to the border is likely to anger the left and draw more comparisons as the expected migrant surge has prompted the administration to work more closely with Mexican authorities and NGO partners and look for alternative removal authorities under Title 8.
The Biden administration is under pressure to address the migrant crisis at the southern border. The move to send troops is the latest action taken to curb the influx of migrants while the administration looks for other solutions to the growing crisis.
