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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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President Joe Biden received some criticism on social media after the White House announced that it would be deploying 1,500 troops to the southern border ahead of Title 42's expiration next week.
Former President Donald Trump invoked Title 42 in 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic, freeing U.S. authorities to expel migrants to their home country—or the country from which they most previously lived—without undergoing a formal asylum process. Title 42 is set to expire May 11.
"Sending 1500 troops to the border a week before Title 42 ends will not solve the crisis. The Biden administration needs to secure our border," Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
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Cassidy's comments arrived shortly after the White House announced deployment of the troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the troops "will not be performing law enforcement functions or interacting with immigrants, or migrants," and instead will help carry out administrative tasks in an effort to "free up Border Patrol agents to perform their critical law enforcement duties."
According to the Associated Press, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said that the troops will be deployed at the border for 90 days "until CBP [Customs and Border Protection] can address these needs through contracted support."
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In a statement obtained by Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security said, "In preparation for the return to Title 8 immigration enforcement, the State Department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are implementing sweeping measures with our regional partners to reduce irregular migration, ensure safe, orderly and efficient processing, and promptly remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States."
"DoD [Department of Defense] personnel will be performing non-law enforcement duties such as ground based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support. DoD personnel have never, and will not, perform law enforcement activities or interact with migrants or other individuals in DHS custody," the statement added.
A number of other social media users also criticized Biden and the decision by the White House to deploy troops to the border.
Andrea R. Flores, who served in the administration of former President Barack Obama, wrote, "Deploying military personnel suggests a concerning lack of readiness for this transition. @DHSgov had over two years to plan a gradual wind down of Title 42. Instead, the situation has escalated into a greater emergency that will, once again, lead to troops in border communities."
Jenna Ellis, who served as senior legal adviser for Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, wrote, "BREAKING: Just in time for election season, Biden finally set to deploy 1500 troops to US/Mexico border."
Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email for comment.
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