Because of an expected increased arrival of migrants, the US government wants to move 1,500 additional soldiers to the border with Mexico. For an initial 90 days, the soldiers will carry out administrative tasks such as data entry and camp support, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said, “You will not perform law enforcement functions or interact with immigrants or migrants.” With the transfer, the officials of the border guards should be relieved of the work in the field.
The background is apparently that on May 11, a controversial deportation regulation will no longer apply. The so-called Title 42 rule was introduced under former US President Donald Trump and made it easier to quickly reject migrants with reference to the corona pandemic. Washington is struggling to find solutions to the tense situation at the border, which has worsened in recent months due to the increasing number of asylum seekers.
The Biden government recently announced that it intends to move the initial registration of asylum seekers from South and Central America abroad. In Colombia and Guatemala, centers are to be opened in the coming weeks where people will have to report before making their way to the United States. There it should be checked, for example, what options are open to them in the USA and whether admission is even granted. In this way, one wants to save people the often dangerous journey to the southern border of the United States, said a representative of the US government.
Also, according to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the United States is returning to the use of Title 8, which provides for a roughly five-year re-entry ban in the event of illegal immigration. The issue of migration and illegal immigration is dividing US society and is likely to remain one of the key campaign issues. Conservative politicians accuse US President Joe Biden of lax border security and are trying to score points with voters.