Biden, Bracing for Surge of Mexican Migrants, Will Send 1,500 Troops to Border

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will send 1,500 troops to the Mexican border ahead of an expected migrant surge following the end of coronavirus pandemic-era restrictions, according to four administration officials.Military personnel will do data entry, warehouse support and other administrative tasks so that Customs and Border Protection can focus on fieldwork, the officials said. The troops will not do law enforcement work and will be sent down for roughly 90 days, though their presence can be extended if necessary. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about the request and spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. It’s unclear when the troops would be deployed.The Covid restrictions allowed American officials to turn away tens of thousands of migrants crossing the southern border, but those restrictions will lift May 11, and border officials are bracing for an expected surge of migrants. Even amid the restrictions, the administration has seen record numbers of people crossing the border, and President Biden has responded by cracking down on those who cross illegally and by creating new pathways meant to offer alternatives to a dangerous and often deadly journey.Mr. Biden’s actions follow similar moves by President Trump, who deployed active duty troops to the border to assist border patrol personnel in processing large migrant caravans, on top of National Guard forces that were already working in that capacity. There are already roughly 2,700 National Guard members at the border.The Pentagon on Tuesday approved the request for troops by the Department of Homeland Security, which manages the border, one of the officials said.But the deployments have a catch: As a condition for Defense Secretary Austin’s previous approval of National Guard troops to support the border mission throughout fiscal year 2023, which ends this October 1, DHS had to agree to work with the White House and Congress “to develop a plan and implement solutions to staffing and funding shortfalls to maintain border security and the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants that do not involve the continued use of DOD personnel and resources after FY2023,” said a Pentagon spokesman, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Devin Robinson.As part of the agreement, the Defense Department requested quarterly updates from Homeland Security on how it would staff its border mission without service members throughout this fiscal year; it was not immediately clear if those updates have happened or if Homeland Security will be able to meet its terms of the agreement — particularly under the strain of another migrant surge.For Mr. Biden, who announced his Democratic reelection campaign a week ago, the decision signals his administration is taking seriously an effort to tamp down the number of illegal crossings, a potent source of Republican attacks, and sends a message to potential border crossers not to attempt the journey. Yet it also draws potentially unwelcome comparisons to Mr. Biden’s Republican predecessor, whose policies Mr. Biden frequently criticized. Congress, meanwhile, has refused to take any substantial immigration-related actions.It’s another line of defense in an effort to manage overcrowding and other possible issues that might arise as border officials move away from the Covid restrictions. Last week, administration officials announced they would work to swiftly screen migrants seeking asylum at the border, quickly deport those deemed as not being qualified, and penalize people who cross illegally into America or illegally through another country on their way to the border.They will also open centers outside the United States for people fleeing violence and poverty to apply to fly in legally and settle in the United States, Spain, or Canada. The first processing centers will open in Guatemala and Colombia, with others expected to follow.

Biden, Bracing for Surge of Mexican Migrants, Will Send 1,500 Troops to Border

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