Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott on Monday (May 8th) ordered the deployment of hundreds of National Guardsmen to the border with Mexico to deal with an expected influx of migrants, denouncing a "chaos" caused by President Joe Biden. Under the leadership of the Democrat, the US federal state must lift at the end of the week the "Title 42", a health measure invoked at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, which allows to deport without delay migrants crossing the land border of the United States, including asylum seekers. "With the end of Title 42 on Thursday, President Biden is rolling out the red carpet for people around the world," Abbott said in a statement.
The governor and all Republicans are relentlessly attacking Joe Biden, accused of turning the Mexican border into a sieve. Greg Abbott announces the mobilization of military helicopters and aircraft as well as "specially trained soldiers for the Texas Border Tactical Force, which will be deployed to border hot spots to help stop and repel large groups of migrants attempting to enter Texas illegally."
4,000 troops deployed on the border
Once "Title 42" is lifted, the U.S. government plans to deter migrants from crossing the border using a range of measures, but U.S. border cities expect thousands of people to try to reach the U.S. starting Friday. The Texas cities of El Paso, Brownsville and Laredo have declared a local state of emergency to increase their capacity to deal with the migrants already present, mainly from Latin America. In El Paso, hundreds sleep on the streets, on pieces of cardboard.
In anticipation of the end of "Title 42," the Biden administration has deployed an additional 1,500 troops to bolster the 2,500 troops already assisting Border Patrol.