The administration of US President Joe Biden plans to send 1,500 troops to the US border with Mexico as the country prepares for the lifting of controversial pandemic-era restrictions later this month, US officials said.
Citing four unnamed US officials, the Associated Press news agency reported Tuesday that the troops would help with administrative tasks at the border, freeing up other agencies to focus on execution operations linked to the end of Title 42.
The Reuters news agency and various US media also reported on the troop deployment, which has not been confirmed by the Biden administration.
“This will absolutely send the message of militarizing the border to deter immigrants,” Gregory Chen, director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), said on Twitter, criticizing the plan.
The controversial Title 42 policy, first imposed by former President Donald Trump at the height of the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020, has allowed US authorities to expel quickly asylum seekers arriving at the border seeking protection.
It is set to expire on May 11, and Washington is bracing for an anticipated surge in people trying to seek asylum at the US-Mexico border. Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024, has faced criticism from Republicans over the surge in arrivals at the border.
Citing US officials, the Associated Press reported that US military personnel sent to the border will perform data entry, warehouse support and other administrative tasks for US Customs and Border Protection. US can focus on field work.
The troops will not do law enforcement work and will be deployed for about 90 days, though their presence can be extended if necessary, said the US officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
It is not clear when the troops will be deployed, the news agency added.
The force would add to an ongoing deployment of some 2,500 National Guard troops.
When asked about the deployment of US troops, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told reporters that the United States is a sovereign nation and that Mexico respects its decisions.
asylum restrictions
The Biden administration has been trying to stem the flow of asylum seekers to its southern border for months, with Vice President Kamala Harris tell prospective immigrants in 2021, “Don’t come”.
In late April, Washington Announced that would open migration centers in several Latin American countries where people could apply to enter the US across the border.
However, the administration also stated that it would expedite removals of individuals, including families, seeking to enter the US to claim asylum. Under the new measures, those caught crossing irregularly will also be banned from re-entry for five years.
While Biden criticized the anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric of the Trump administration, the Democratic president has been criticized by immigrant rights groups for keeping many of those policies in place and enacting more. asylum restrictions during his time in office.
Restrictive immigration policieswhen combined with narrow pathways to enter the US legally, they have also been blamed for pushing migrants into dangerous situations that leave them vulnerable to abuse.
After a fire at an immigration detention center in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez killed at least 39 people, immigrant rights advocates blamed the tragedy on the immigration policies of the United States.
“Unfortunately, as the United States takes more extreme measures to close the border to asylum seekers, these types of tragedies will likely become more common,” said Victoria Neilson, supervising attorney for the National Immigration Project, a group of legal defense, to Al Jazeera at the time.
Most of those killed were from Guatemala, while other victims came from Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. People are fleeing those countries due to widespread violence, poverty and political instability.
