Biden channels Trump with troop deployment to border, but critics see empty gesture

President Biden is taking a page from former President Trump's book by sending troops to the southern border — but critics are dismissing the move as an empty gesture driven more by sinking polling numbers and administrative necessity than a newfound commitment to border security. 

"The action they're taking is not substantive," former acting Customs and Border Protection chief Mark Morgan said on the John Solomon Reports podcast. "It's all about politics."

The Biden administration on Tuesday approved the temporary deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border to assist the U.S. Border Patrol before the expiration of Title 42, a public health authority that allowed the U.S. to quickly deport asylum-seekers to contain the spread of COVID.

The ulterior purpose of the deployment, Morgan argues, is to facilitate, not repel, illegal entry into the U.S.

"They're not being sent there to secure the border," said Morgan, who was appointed chief of the U.S. Border Patrol by President Obama. "They're simply being [sent] down there to facilitate the catch and release of those illegally entering and filing fraudulent claims. Let's make no mistake: This is all smoke and mirrors. Nothing's going to change. They're not doing anything with respect to an effective strategy of deterrence and consequences and put integrity back in the system. It's just the opposite. It's more of the same."

Anticipating a surge of illegal border crossings with the imminent expiration of Title 42, the administration, Morgan suspects, is boosting manpower at the border to enhance administrative efficiency, not border security.

"They know the numbers are going to increase, so they know they need more resources there to help process and release illegal aliens as fast as humanly possible," he said, "and that's exactly what's going on right now."

When Title 42 expires May 11, thousands of additional migrants are expected to attempt to cross illegally into the U.S.

"Sending 1500 troops to the border a week before Title 42 ends will not solve the crisis," Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy wrote on Twitter. "The Biden administration needs to secure our border."

Almost 87% of Americans blame the federal government for the border crisis, according to a new poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group for Convention of States Action. 

Illegal immigration across the southern border has skyrocketed under the Biden administration, overwhelming the resources of the U.S. Border Patrol and border states and communities alike. Customs and Border Patrol agents reported encountering more than 2.7 million migrants nationwide, mostly along the southern border, in fiscal year 2022. Migrant encounters at the U.S. border with Mexico surged 23% in March of this year.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott derided Biden's troop deployment as a mere stopgap intended only to alleviate a temporary bottleneck.

"Biden says he will deploy 1,500 troops to the border — primarily to do paperwork," Abbott wrote on Twitter. "And only for 90 days. 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."

This deployment follows a grisly killing of five last week in Texas. The suspect in the murders is 39-year-old Francisco Oropesa, an illegal immigrant who had been deported four times. According to an ABC source, he was deported twice in 2009, once in 2012 and again in 2016.

Morgan urged the GOP-controlled House to accelerate efforts to secure the border — starting at the top. 

Morgan was asked if Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should be impeached. "It should have already happened," he answered. "I know Congress has a lot on their plate right now with the new Republican-led House because there are so many things going in the wrong direction in our country. But I can't think of anything more critically important than the security of our homeland."