Vice President Kamala Harris criticized former President Donald Trump for sending active-duty military personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018.
Now, President Joe Biden is taking a similar action to help augment officials at the border.
This week, a 2018 interview with Harris surfaced where she criticized the Trump administration’s decision to send 5,200 active-duty troops to the border ahead of the midterm election.
Harris thanked members of the military before stating, “I also believe that the administration made a decision to deploy them based on a political agenda. And I believe that it is inappropriate to require the limited resources of the United States military to be used in such a way… you know, these folks who are being deployed there, they’re gonna leave, they’ve left their families, they will not be home, it looks like, for Thanksgiving.”
“And all because there needed to be some demonstration for the TV cameras based on a political agenda instead of what is a national security threat,” she added.
Watch the video below:
JUST IN: Video emerges of Kamala Harris attacking Trump in 2018 for SENDING TROOPS to the border..
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) May 3, 2023
Calling the idea ‘INAPPROPRIATE’ and a ‘demonstration for TV cameras’.. pic.twitter.com/DwK9Io0bAd
Politico noted at the time the deployment would bring “the total military presence on the southern border to more than 7,000, roughly the same number fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.”
“The troops will include military engineers to construct additional barriers and fencing, as well as helicopter units and cargo aircraft to move border security personnel quickly to remote locations. A smaller number of medical personnel and military police will also be deployed to the border,” it added.
Politico also pointed out, “The new mission, dubbed Operation Faithful Patriot, is also likely to draw the troops away from regularly scheduled combat training.”
It came as Trump warned of a “national emergency” he claimed was posed by a caravan of migrants heading toward the border.
The Biden administration approved the deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops to the border on Tuesday.
There are already 2,500 National Guard troops deployed along the border.
As The Washington Post reported, “The Department of Homeland Security requested the temporary increase to supplement Customs and Border Protection’s efforts, a U.S. official said. The deployment is expected to last 90 days, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity citing ongoing interagency discussions.”
“Troops involved will not conduct law enforcement work, the official said. Rather, they will fill ‘critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs’ through contracted help,” it added.
The move comes as officials are bracing for a potential wave of migrants at the border when Title 42, a pandemic-era border policy, is lifted
Officials have estimated there could be over 10,000 illegal border crossings per day once the policy ends.
