Arizona’s governor on Friday ordered the state’s National Guard to the Mexican border to help federal officials manage the influx of migrants.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said she issued the executive order because “the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep our communities safe.”
“I’m taking action where the federal government won’t,” Hobbs said.
It was unclear when troops would arrive at the border and exactly how many would be mobilized.
Hobbs asked President Joe Biden’s administration a week ago to mobilize 243 Arizona National Guard troops already in the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector that includes Lukeville, Arizona, to help federal officials reopen. the border crossing that was closed indefinitely on December 4.
Customs and Border Protection has said closing the official crossing was necessary to allow personnel stationed there to help Border Patrol agents handle the hundreds of migrants who cross illegally in that area daily.
Migrants wait to be transported by U.S. border patrol after crossing the border wall into the United States from Mexico, as the number of migrants increases in the border town of Lukeville, Arizona, December 14, 2023. REUTERS
Although remote, the crossing is a popular route for Arizonans traveling to the Mexican resort of Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point, about 62 miles south of the border on the northern coast of the Sea of Cortez.
Hobbs said National Guard members will be stationed at several locations along the southern border, including around Lukeville.
There, they will support state and local agencies involved in law enforcement, including illegal drug interdiction and human trafficking.
Customs and Border Protection officials said they had no immediate response to the governor’s decision. REUTERS
The San Miguel crossing, located further east in the Tohono O’odham Nation, also sees hundreds of migrant arrivals daily, but tribal officials said the National Guard would not be stationed on the reservation.
“We are in close communication with Governor Hobbs on this issue,” said Verlon José, president of the Tohono O’odham Nation. “We made it clear that no National Guard would be deployed in the Nation and his office agreed. “Today’s action by the Governor is a necessary step to address the current crisis at the border.”
Hobbs said the Biden administration had not responded to his request that the US government reimburse Arizona for spending on border security.
Hobbs said National Guard members will be stationed at several locations along the southern border, including around Lukeville. NYPJ
Customs and Border Protection officials said they had no immediate response to the governor’s decision.
The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs National Guard confirmed Friday afternoon that it was activating members.
Maj. Gen. Kerry L. Muehlenbeck, who oversees the Arizona National Guard, said he concluded a 30-month active-duty mission supporting law enforcement agencies in southern Arizona in September.
Muehlenbeck said the previous mission provided logistical, administrative, cyber and medical support.
U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, who represents southern Arizona, said he disagreed with Hobbs’ executive order.
“But I do appreciate that Governor Hobbs has rejected the brutal and cruel tactics of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who have taken advantage of this crisis to inhumanely and illegally use immigrants as political pawns and to politicize and pander instead of working on real solutions,” Grijalva said in a statement.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn