American troops will assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents with a variety of work, including ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry and warehouse support.
Servicemembers will not do any law enforcement work, according to a U.S. official.
The deployment of troops comes as the Title 42 order is set to expire on May 11 and is expected to lead to a surge of migrants at the border.
The pandemic-era policy allows for the expulsion of migrants at the border during a public health emergency.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the deployment of troops to the border is “a common practice.”
“DOD personnel have been supporting CBP at the border for almost two decades now,” she said, referring to the Defense Department.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, slammed the Biden administration for the military deployment, saying the “militarization of the border is unacceptable.”
“The administration has had over two years to plan for the eventual end of this Trump-era policy in a way that does not compromise our values as a country,” the senator said in a statement.
“I have offered them a strategic and comprehensive plan, which they have largely ignored,” he continued. “Trying to score political points or intimidate migrants by sending the military to the border caters to the Republican Party’s xenophobic attacks on our asylum system.”
Stationing active-duty troops at the border is not new.
Former President Trump deployed 5,000 troops to the border ahead of the 2018 midterms, which was criticized by Democrats but ultimately continued by President Biden in a smaller capacity.
The Obama and Bush administrations have also deployed troops to the border.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
