WASHINGTON: Thousands of American troops are being deployed along the US-Mexico border, facing a chaotic surge of migrants as Title 42, a public health policy that allowed the swift expulsion migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic, is set to come to an end on Thursday.
The Title 42 policy, introduced in March 2020 by the administration of former President Donald Trump, will end at 11.59 p.m. on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.
Under the policy, US authorities turned back would-be migrants — including those seeking humanitarian asylum — attempting to cross the border from Mexico more than 2.5 million times using the Covid-19 pandemic as justification.
About 2,500 US National Guard troops have already been at the country’s southern border.
The White House has said another 1,500 troops will be sent there before the end of this month, making the .S military presence at the border to a total of 4,000 personnel.
The first set of new troops, about 550 personnel, headed to El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, local media reported.
Texas Governor Greg Abbottalso announced this week that hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers, equipped with Black Hawk helicopters and C-130s, are being deployed to a number of hot spots along the Rio Grande. (IANS)
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