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DHS Expects Biden Admin to Deploy Military to Border After Title 42 Repeal: Internal Memo

A U.S. border patrol agent talks to immigrants at the Texas-Mexico border (Getty Images)
May 2, 2023

Federal authorities are preparing for the Department of Defense to relocate staff to meet an expected influx of migrants on the southwestern border following the repeal of Title 42, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Defense Department staff sent to the border would, among other things, assist with entering migrant information into federal databases before they are released into the United States. Authorities anticipate that up to 15,000 migrants will attempt to illegally enter the United States per day shortly following the May 11th termination of the pandemic-era public health order, which allowed border agents to turn migrants away.

"Once again, the Biden administration is using the rest of the government to wave more migrants through," a senior Homeland Security official told the Free Beacon on the condition of anonymity.

The move comes as senior officials at Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and outside analysts worry about a tremendous surge in illegal border crossings later this month. The Free Beacon reported on an April memo from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that warned agency staff about Title 42’s repeal and the "strain our workforce, our communities, and our entire system" will face afterwards.

The May memo corroborates reports that the Biden administration may send 1,500 active duty troops to the southwest border later this month. Those soldiers would perform administrative tasks and transportation in order to relieve strain on U.S. Border Patrol agents. No plans have been made for American troops to assist in border enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.

President Joe Biden’s decision to end Title 42 has drawn criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, who charge that the policy was one of the last tools left from an overwhelming surge on the southwest border. Law enforcement has recorded more than seven million migrant encounters on the southwest border since Biden took office, the most in United States history.

The Biden administration deployed 2,500 troops to the southwest border in October at Mayorkas’s request. Those troops are authorized to stay in the region until September 2023.

Former president Donald Trump sent more than 5,000 troops to the southern border in October of 2018 during a surge of illegal entries, although that month saw roughly 80 percent fewer migrants than what experts expect in the upcoming weeks. Trump’s decision was met with criticism from Democrats, who called the move unnecessary and a misuse of the Pentagon’s resources.