US sends 1,500 troops to Mexico border as Covid-era asylum rule is set to expire

Officials are bracing for the end of Title 42, which allows the US to expel non-Mexican migrants without the chance to seek asylum

Joe Biden will send 1,500 troops to the US-Mexico border, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, in preparation for a possible rise in immigration when Covid-19 border restrictions lift later this month.

The 90-day deployment of active-duty troops will supplement the work of the US border patrol but will not carry out law enforcement duties, said Brig Gen Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, in a statement.