As Texas continues to grapple with an ongoing crisis on the southern border, now in its third year, Republican-led states are stepping up efforts by sending in troops, law enforcement and other resources to help secure the southern border.
This week, Tennessee and Nebraska announced they would send personnel to the border, joining Mississippi and Florida. Tennessee announced the deployment of 100 National Guard members, while Nebraska announced the deployment of 10 state troopers.
“America continues to face an unprecedented border crisis that threatens the security of our nation and the safety of the people of Tennessee,” Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said in a statement Wednesday. “The federal government owes Americans a plan to secure our country, and in the meantime, the states continue to answer this important call for service. I again authorize the Tennessee National Guard to help secure the southern border, and I commends these troops for providing critical support.”
“Our nation has a serious and unchecked threat as a result of President Biden’s decision to end Title 42,” Nebraska Governor Jim Phillen said. “Nebraska is committed to using every tool in its toolbox to help stop the influx of illegal immigration to our southern border. Illegal immigration undermines the security of our nation, undermines the rule of law and threatens the well-being of our state.”
Migrants cross a barbed wire barrier into the United States from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The United States is preparing for the Thursday, May 11 end of the Title 42 policy, linked to the coronavirus pandemic which enabled it to rapidly expel many asylum-seeking migrants. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
MISSISSIPPI GOV TATE REEVES SENDS NATIONAL GUARD TO U.S.-MEXICO BORDER
Texas has been on the front lines of the crisis since it began in the early months of 2021. While the causes are widely debated — with Republicans blaming the Biden administration’s policies and the administration accusing Republicans of not to have provided funding and immigration reform – the numbers have been staggering.
There were more than 1.7 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2021 and more than 2.3 million in fiscal year 22. So far, there have been more than 1.4 million migrant encounters in FY23 recorded through the end of April, with five months remaining in the fiscal year.
Texas has increased its resources at the border with Operation Lone Star, while the Biden administration has also touted its own resources it has sent to the border, including entry points and processing power additional. But now states with Republican governors are stepping up, especially as the Title 42 public health order has ended — which allowed for the rapid withdrawal of migrants at the border due to the COVID pandemic — 19.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced last week that his state was deploying resources to help Texas.
The governor’s office said Florida has more than 1,100 assets and resources available to help, including 101 highway patrol personnel, 200 Department of Law Enforcement officers, 800 National Guard troops, emergency management personnel, 17 unmanned drones and 10 vessels, including airboats.
DESANTIS SENDS FLORIDA LAW ENFORCEMENTS AND NATIONAL GUARD TO TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER TO ASSIST WITH MIGRANT CRISIS
“The impacts of Biden’s border crisis are felt by communities across the country, and the federal government’s abdication of duty undermines our country’s sovereignty and the rule of law,” DeSantis said in a statement. communicated.
“Under my direction, state agencies, including law enforcement and the Florida National Guard, are deployed in Texas, with assets including personnel, boats, and aircraft. As Biden shrugs off the crisis created, Florida stands ready to help Texas respond to this crisis,” he said.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Chris Olivarez wrote in response, “We welcome the support of the State of Florida as they will provide additional resources to help combat criminal activity and ban deadly narcotics.”
A day later, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said that state was mobilizing National Guard troops to help secure the border.
BIDEN ADMIN ALL 70% DROP IN MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AFTER TITLE 42, AGAINST PREDICTION
“What happens at the border doesn’t stay there. Drugs and people flow to every state in the country, including Mississippi,” Reeves said. “To keep Mississippians safe and limit the impact of our nation’s open borders, the Mississippi National Guard’s 112th Military Police Battalion has been mobilized and is supporting Customs and Border Protection agents and officers along along the southwestern border.”
The Biden administration has been cautious about such efforts, with officials recently suggesting Florida’s move was politically motivated.
President Biden talks about inflation and supply chain issues in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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“Exceptional coordination is happening at the local level every day. We have, however, seen at times that Governor DeSantis and [Texas Gov. Greg Abbott] taking actions that are really being taken for purely political reasons and that don’t involve the kind of coordination that we really need at the border,” Homeland Security Department official Blas Nunez-Neto told reporters. , last week.
“We have confidence in our men and women on the front lines, in their ability to carry out their border operations in a safe, humane and secure manner. And we again call on governors to ensure that any measures they take are taken in coordination with our federal personnel,” he said.
Meanwhile, numbers have plummeted at the border from highs seen in the days before Title 42 ended, when officers encountered more than 10,000 migrants a day. The numbers have since dropped to an average of around 3,000 a day, officials said last week.
