US To Deploy 1,500 SoldiersTo Southern Border

The US is sending 1,500 troops to bolster resources at its southern border ahead of an expected surge of migrants, the defence department said.

They will accompany 2,500 National Guard members already in place to support the work of border agents.

Title 42, a Trump-era policy that gives the government power to automatically expel undocumented migrants, is set to expire on 11 May.

Officials expect a sharp increase in migrants to follow.

The additional military personnel will be deployed for 90 days to “supplement” the work of US Customs and Border Patrol, CBP, officers, and a US official told the BBC on Tuesday.

“They will not be doing any law enforcement, the official said, but will instead assist with transportation, narcotics detection, data entry, and warehouse support.”

In a statement released later by the Department of Defence, the agency said the additional personnel would fill in “critical capability gaps.”

Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder told media on Tuesday that his agency has supported the Department of Homeland Security on the southern border for 18 of the last 22 years, and every year since 2006. The troops will arrive as early as 10 May, General Ryder said.

The deployment is meant to ease the growing pressure on border agents as they prepare for a sharp increase in migrants at the southern border.

BBC/Shakirat Sadiq