South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to send National Guard troops to southern border

Vice President Kamala Harris says the United States must be consistent when dealing with issues on the Southern border. (June 25) AP Domestic

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The governor of South Dakota announced Tuesday her intent to deploy State National Guard troops to Texas to assist in securing the U.S.-Mexico border from illegal entrants, according to a press release. 

Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, said her decision is in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s request for more assistance to help police the border. A private donation will fund an initial deployment of up to 50 troops to Texas for between 30-60 days, the press release said.

“The border is a national security crisis that requires the kind of sustained response only the National Guard can provide,” Noem said. “We should not be making our own communities less safe by sending our police or Highway Patrol to fix a long-term problem President Biden’s Administration seems unable or unwilling to solve. My message to Texas is this: help is on the way.” 

Earlier this month, Abbott and Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona sent a joint letter to governors of the remaining states to ask for supplemental law enforcement to help arrest those illegally crossing the border. The Biden administration “has proven unwilling or unable to do the job,” the Republican governors wrote.

“Given the staggering amount of violations now occurring in Texas and Arizona, additional manpower is needed from any State that can spare it. With your help, we can apprehend more of these perpetrators of federal crimes, before they can cause problems in your State,” the letter reads.

The governors stated cartels are smuggling “deadly fentanyl,” human trafficking victims, illegal firearms and convicted criminals through the southern border.

Another Republican governor, Florida’s Ron DeSantis, also pledged to send law enforcement to Texas and Arizona in lieu of what he calls the Biden’s administration’s failure to “really do anything constructive about what is going on in the southern border.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported this month that they encountered 180,034 migrants in May. Over 60% were turned away under public health restrictions adopted during the pandemic. The numbers, while historically high, are not comparable to prior years because rapid expulsions resulted in repeated attempts to cross.

A CBP spokesperson also said the agency would continue to “leverage our longstanding relationships with state and local enforcement” while ceding to state officials “to speak to any steps they are taking to increase an enforcement posture.”

Texas Gov. Abbott announced plans this month to build a wall to “secure” the U.S.-Mexico border, a federal project that began under former President Donald Trump but was suspended by Biden. 

The wall’s construction will be funded in part from a federal allocation of $250 million granted to Texas when Abbott declared a disaster for 34 counties based on an influx of illegal immigrants, the Texas Tribune reported.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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