2023-05-02 17:12:14
schedule19:12 – 2 Maj, 2023
The US is sending 1,500 troops to bolster its southern border as a surge in migrants is expected, according to a US official.
They will join the 2,500 National Guard members already in the country and support the work of border agents.
Officials expect a sharp increase in immigrants to follow.
The additional military personnel, first reported by Fox News, will be deployed for 90 days to “supplement” the work of US Customs and Border Patrol officers, the official told the BBC on Tuesday.
They won’t do any law enforcement, the official said, but will instead help with transportation, narcotics detection, data entry and warehouse support.
The BBC has contacted the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
The deployment is likely intended to ease mounting pressure on border agents as they prepare for a sharp increase in immigrants at the southern border.
The number of immigrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally during fiscal year 2021 was the highest on record since at least 1960. Last year, that number reached 2.76 million — another record.
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