President Joe Biden is temporarily deploying 1,500 soldiers [10] to the US-Mexico border ahead of the end of a pandemic-era entry restriction known as Title 42 on May 11. The soldiers are to perform administrative tasks, but critics say [11] the move sends the message that migration is a threat. Tens of thousands of asylum seekers and migrants currently stranded in dire conditions in northern Mexican border cities by US policies are growing increasingly desperate and frustrated [12]. More than 15,000 people [13]—mostly from Venezuela—crossed the border in the vicinity of Brownsville late last month, overwhelming shelter capacity. And in El Paso, nearly 2,000 people [14] who recently crossed the border are sleeping on sidewalks in the city center. The Biden administration has introduced a number of policies aimed at extending asylum restrictions [17] at the border and curbing migration. The administration reached a deal [15] with Mexico on May 2 that for the first time allows the US to deport non-Mexicans who enter the country irregularly back across the border.
From The New Humanitarian [18], May 5
Note: Title 42 [19] is only poised to finally end because the US public health emergency declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic which it is based on expires [20] on May 11.
