Biden’s Decision to Send Troops to Border Met With Mixed Reactions

Most Democrats remain tight-lipped, while Republicans say move fails to address larger issues

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on March 23, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

U.S. lawmakers gave mixed reactions to President Joe Biden’s decision to send 1,500 additional U.S. military personnel to the Mexican border.

The White House and Pentagon announced on May 2 that the executive branch would nearly double the number of troops working along the border, increasing that number to 4,000 from 2,500. The 1,500 new troops will serve in a limited capacity, performing data entry, tracking and surveillance, transportation, and other tasks.

However, the troops going to the border won’t be performing any law enforcement action. Their presence will likely free up Border Patrol agents to focus on apprehending illegal aliens.

U.S. Marines help build a concertina wire barricade at the U.S.–Mexico border in preparation for the arrival of a caravan of migrants at the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego on Nov. 13, 2018. Reuters/Mike Blake

The announcement comes ahead of the expected end of Title 42, a COVID-era immigration policy making it easier for illegal aliens to be turned away along the border. The end of the program is expected to heavily exacerbate a situation that has already left Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) struggling to keep up with limited resources.

Democrats, who have in the past condemned similar executive actions, have largely been mum on the issue. Republicans, meanwhile, have said that the move is too little, too late, and won’t address larger border security issues.

In 2018, Democrats condemned a similar move by President Donald Trump; dozens of Democrat lawmakers at the time signed a letter condemning the decision.

Democrats at the time described the move as “nothing short of a militarization of the border to score political points.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, whose administration is now doing the same, at the time called it “inappropriate,” “political,” and “a demonstration for TV cameras,” while she was a U.S. senator from California.

Democrat: ‘Militarization of the Border’

Only a handful of Democrats addressed the issue at all.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who has in the past broken with Biden on certain issues, decried the move in a statement as “militarization of the border,” which he called “unacceptable.”

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) questions Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler as he testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, in Washington on Sept. 15, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“There is already a humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere, and deploying military personnel only signals that migrants are a threat that require our nation’s troops to contain,” he said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.

“The administration has had over two years to plan for the eventual end of this Trump-era policy in a way that does not compromise our values as a country. I have offered them a strategic and comprehensive plan, which they have largely ignored.

“Trying to score political points or intimidate migrants by sending the military to the border caters to the Republican Party’s xenophobic attacks on our asylum system.”

Republicans Say It Won’t Be Effective

While Democrats have been tight-lipped on the issue, Republicans have insisted that the move won’t limit the expected surge in illegal migration.

For years, Republicans have referred to the situation at the border as the “Biden Border Crisis,” suggesting that he and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have allowed the flow to continue for political purposes.

“President Biden wants to send troops to the border—not to secure it and enforce our immigration laws, but to process illegal immigrants faster,“ Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said of the decision, which he called ”a publicity stunt that does nothing to stop Joe Biden’s border crisis.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose state bears the brunt of illegal immigration, agreed.

“Biden says he will deploy 1,500 troops to the border—primarily to do paperwork. And only for 90 days,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. “This does nothing to stop illegal immigration.

“I deployed up to 10,000 Texas National Guard to the border to fill the gaps created by Biden’s reckless open border policies.”

https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1653492866017120276

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and others see political motives behind the move.

“After over 2 years, Joe Biden is finally sending 1,500 troops to our border because the crisis is so dangerously out of control that it has driven his poll numbers to impeachment levels,” Greene wrote in a Twitter post.

“It’s not about protecting our country, it’s all about protecting himself.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) waits to speak during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 1, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) called the move “a rare moment of clarity” for the Biden administration but opined that the move wouldn’t be needed if Biden had taken seriously the enforcement of immigration laws.

“The Biden admin is having a rare moment of clarity as it realizes the CHAOS that mass crossings at our southern border will create due to lifting Title 42,” Cline wrote on Twitter. “Sending 1,500 troops wouldn’t be necessary if Joe Biden ENFORCED our laws & SECURED the border.”

Tomi Lahren, a political commentator, suggested that the move amounted to little more than “sending troops to the border to help escort illegals in on a red carpet,” echoing other GOP criticisms.