The Pentagon said Tuesday it will deploy more troops to help provide security at the US-Mexico border as officials fear a surge in migrant crossing attempts when COVID-19 immigration restrictions end on May 11.
Some 1,500 troops will be sent to the border, adding to the 2,500 already there to support Border Patrol authorities in the face of a possible gush of frontier crossings.
“For 90 days, these 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support,” spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement.
On May 11, President Joe Biden’s administration will lift Title 42, the strict protocol implemented by previous president Donald Trump to deny entry to migrants and expel asylum seekers based on the Covid pandemic emergency.
With the easing of coronavirus regulations—including Monday’s decision to end vaccination requirements for inbound travelers—the Biden administration can no longer justify using Title 42 to stem migration.
Instead, the administration plans to deter undocumented migrants using Title 8, which essentially criminalizes illegal border crossings, making future legal residency impossible.
Washington says hopeful migrants and asylum seekers must now register for interviews with immigration officials from their own countries, or countries they pass through to reach the border.
The interviews can be arranged on a new smartphone app, CBP One.
In addition, the State Department last week announced it was setting up processing centers for hopeful migrants in other countries – starting with Colombia and Guatemala.
Canada and Spain have agreed to take in some of those who are cleared for emigration by the processing centers, US officials said.
“It’s an approach focused on making migration more safe, orderly and humane and advancing the interests of the American people,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.