Camp Pendleton Marines Head South To Support Border Patrol Agents: Report

CAMP PENDLETON, CA — Marines from Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division will be among 1,500 troops sent to the U.S.-Mexico border to aid Customs and Border Protection as pandemic restrictions expire and a surge of migrants arrive, the Orange County Register reported.

The Camp Pendleton Marines will join around 350 Marines from the 2nd Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and will be assigned duties by Border Patrol Agents.

The increased law enforcement presence at the border comes after a federal immigration control regulation ended Thursday.

Title 42 of the U.S. Public Health Service Act was triggered in March 2020 by then-head of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfeld, under the authority of former President Donald Trump, as a means of preventing propagation of COVID-19.

The order enabled federal authorities to send border crossers back into Mexico without formal asylum hearings based on efforts to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

The health order provided the means to expel 2.7 million individuals over the last three years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The end of the regulation is expected to trigger a greater influx of border crossers into Southern California, placing "significant stress" on county resources, requiring decisive measure to stop abuse of the immigration system, local and federal officials said.

City News Service contributed to this report.