President Biden is to send 1,500 troops to the Mexican border as migrant crossings look set to increase, according to White House officials.
The Department of Defence confirmed service members will be deployed for 90 days in a bid to tackle the sharp increase in crossings due in the next few weeks.
However, they will not be asked to detain or process migrants as the military units will support, transport and perform administrative duties.
Although the troops would be armed for self-defence, they would not assist with law enforcement, according to four administration officials.
It follows President Biden's decision last month to give the Pentagon emergency authorisation to help assist Homeland Security officials in efforts to combat international drug trafficking.
The COVID-19 restrictions allowed US officials to turn away tens of thousands of migrants crossing the southern border, but those restrictions will lift May 11 and border officials are bracing for an expected surge of migrants.
Even amid the restrictions, the administration has seen record numbers of people crossing the US-Mexico border.
President Joe Biden has responded by cracking down on those who cross illegally, and by the creation of new pathways meant to offer alternatives to a dangerous and often deadly journey.
Mr Biden’s actions follow similar moves by former President Donald Trump who deployed active duty troops to the border to assist border patrol personnel in processing large migrant caravans, on top of National Guard forces that were already working in that capacity.
There are already roughly 2,700 National Guard members at the border now.
The decision is another line of defence in an effort to manage overcrowding and other possible issues that might arise as border officials move away from the COVID-19 restrictions.
Last week, administration officials announced they would work to swiftly screen migrants seeking asylum at the border, quickly deport those deemed as not being qualified, and penalising people who cross illegally into the US or illegally through another country on their way to the U.S. border.
They will also open centres outside the United States for people fleeing violence and poverty to apply to fly in legally and settle in the United States, Spain or Canada.
The first processing centres will open in Guatemala and Colombia, with others expected to follow in the next couple of weeks, according to senior White House officials.
