American troops will assist U.S.\u00a0Customs and Border Protection\u00a0(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\u00a0a 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\u00a0Karine Jean-Pierre\u00a0said the deployment of troops to the border is \u201ca common practice.\u201d
\u201cDOD personnel have been supporting CBP at the border for almost two decades now,\u201d she said, referring to the Defense Department.
Sen.\u00a0Bob Menendez\u2002(D-N.J.), chairman of the\u00a0Senate Foreign Relations Committee, slammed the Biden administration for the military deployment, saying the \u201cmilitarization of the border is unacceptable.\u201d
\u201cThe 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,\u201d the senator said in a statement.
\u201cI have offered them a strategic and comprehensive plan, which they have largely ignored,\u201d he continued. \u201cTrying to score political points or intimidate migrants by sending the military to the border caters to the Republican Party\u2019s xenophobic attacks on our asylum system.\u201d
Stationing active-duty troops at the border is not new.
Former President Trump deployed\u00a05,000 troops\u00a0to the border ahead of the 2018 midterms, which was criticized by Democrats but ultimately\u00a0continued\u00a0by\u00a0President Biden\u2002in a smaller capacity.
The Obama and Bush administrations have also deployed troops to the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n