Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III has approved a request from Homeland Security to send military troops to the southwest border.
The troops will remain for 90 days to provide operational support. Reports indicate the troops will assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers as they expect a sharp increase in border crossings with the end of Title 42 approaching.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Defense, there are currently 2,500 National Guardsmen helping CBP at the southern border. The 1,500 additional service members will address "critical gaps" in ground-based detection, monitoring, data entry and warehouse support, the release said.
These troops will be on hand "...until CBP can address these needs through contracted support," Ryder said in the press release. "... Military personnel will not directly participate in law-enforcement activities."
CBS News reports that the additional troops were requested by Homeland Security due to "an anticipated increase in migration." As the end of Title 42 approaches, CBP is preparing for a more difficult situation. Under Title 42, CBP could deport migrants based on a COVID-19-related public health mandate enacted in March of 2020. Title 42 is nearing its last day on May 11.
CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller expects as many as 10,000 migrants to cross the border every day once Title 42 ends, CBS News reports. This number would approximately double the average crossings in March of this year.
There were 1.7 million encounters at the border in 2021 and a record 2.3 million in 2022, as reported by Fox News. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said U.S. Border Patrol does not have operational control.
"In five of those nine southwest border sectors, we have seen an increase in flow and that has caused a considerable strain on our resources," he said in the news story.
In a CNN article, Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said, "We do expect that encounters at our southern border will increase as smugglers are seeking to take advantage of this change and already are hard at work spreading disinformation that the border will be open after that. High encounters will place a strain on our entire system, including our dedicated and heroic workforce and our communities."
