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Biden sending 800 fresh troops to border — but not for enforcement

Up to 800 additional US military members are being sent to the Mexico border — but won’t play any role in stemming the latest surge of illegal migration into America, the Biden administration has announced.

The active-duty personnel will focus on “logistics and other functions at the border to allow more Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officers to return to their core mission and responsibilities,” the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday night.

In practice, that means the troops will help with migrant processing and paperwork that would otherwise bog down CBP agents who are needed in the field — and won’t engage directly with the new arrivals.

There are already 24,000 border agents and officers along the US-Mexico frontier, along with 2,500 state National Guard personnel, according to DHS.

The Pentagon announced Sept. 1 that up to 400 military personnel who were part of an initial 1,500-strong deployment to the border in early May will remain through the end of the month.

On Wednesday, more than 4,000 migrants crossed into Eagle Pass, Texas, prompting the overwhelmed city to declare a state of emergency.

Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. in June had declared the city’s public park “private property” so that the state Department of Public Safety could arrest migrants trespassing there.

In a social media post Wednesday night, Texas DPS spokesperson Chris Olivarez said the mayor has once again allowed police officers to arrest migrants crossing the river into the city’s Shelby Park.

“Due to the unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants crossing between the ports of entry, DPS Troopers & @TXMilitary will regain control, support local, county, & federal authorities, & maintain an enforcement posture,” Olivarez wrote on the platform.

Speaking to News4SA, Democratic state Rep. Eddie Morales said he hopes the crackdown will “resonate with the rest of the migrants that are still in Mexico or in Latin America, to send a strong message that if you cross, you will be actually arrested and prosecuted for criminal trespass.”

Wednesday’s move follows several new steps the administration has introduced to help combat the rising numbers of migrants trekking over the border this summer.

On Wednesday, the White House also announced it will be extending temporary protected status to nearly half a million Venezuelans currently in the United States.

Salinas this week told The Post that the new influx of migrants, many from Venezuela, have overrun Mission Border Hope, the only migrant shelter in Eagle Pass.

On Wednesday, the White House also announced it will be extending temporary protected status to nearly half a million Venezuelans currently in the United States.

What’s more, Salinas said, the latest group — which makes up close to 50% of the city’s 29,000 population — has “taken a toll on our local resources, especially our local police force and our fire department.”

On Wednesday, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott accused the Biden administration of cutting razor wire that the Lone Star State had installed in Eagle Pass.

“Texas installed razor wire in Eagle Pass to stop illegal crossings,” Abbott explained on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Today the Biden Admin CUT that wire, opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants.”

“I immediately deployed more Texas National Guard to repel illegal crossings & install more razor wire,” Abbott added.

The governor later posted a picture of a letter he sent directly to Biden in November 2022, and declared that the president’s policies caused “an invasion at our border.”

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