As Texas continues to deal with an ongoing crisis at the southern border, now in its third year, the Republican-led state is stepping up by sending 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 in doing so. 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 Tennesseans,” said Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee in a statement on Wednesday. “The federal government owes the American people a plan to secure our nation, and in the meantime, states continue to respond to this important call to service. critical support.”
“Our country has a serious and unchecked threat on its hands following President Biden’s decision to end Title 42,” said Nebraska Gov. Jim Phillen. “Nebraska is committed to using every tool in its toolbox to help stop the flow of illegal immigration at our southern border. Illegal immigration harms our nation’s security, undermines the rule of law, and threatens the benefit of our state.”
Migrants cross a barbed-wire barrier into the United States from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The US is preparing for the Thursday, May 11 end of the Title 42 policy, which is linked to the coronavirus pandemic. allowing it to quickly deport large numbers of asylum-seeking migrants. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
MISSISSIPPI GOV TATE REEVES SENDS NATIONAL GUARD TO US-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 policies of the Biden administration and the administration blaming Republicans for the failure to fund immigration reform — the numbers are huge.
There were more than 1.7 million migrant encounters in FY 2021, and more than 2.3 million in FY22. There are currently over 1.4 million migrant encounters in FY 23 recorded up to the end of April, with five months left in the fiscal year.
Texas has increased border resources in Operation Lone Star, while the Biden administration has also announced its own resources it is sending to the border, including ports of entry and additional processing power. But now states with Republican governors are on the move, especially after the end of the Title 42 public health order — which allowed for the rapid removal of migrants at the border because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Announced by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week that his state is deploying resources to help Texas.
The governor’s office says Florida has more than 1,100 assets and resources available to help, including 101 Highway Patrol personnel, 200 Department of Law Enforcement officers, 800 troopers in National Guard, emergency management personnel, 17 unmanned drones and 10 vessels, including airboats.
DESANTIS SENDS FLORIDA LAW ENFORCEMENT, NATIONAL GUARD TO TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER TO HELP WITH MIGRANT CRISIS
“The effects of Biden’s Border Crisis are being felt in communities across the country, and the abdication of the federal government undermines our nation’s sovereignty and the rule of law,” DeSantis said in a statement.
“At my direction, state agencies including law enforcement and the Florida National Guard were deployed to Texas, with assets including personnel, boats and aircraft. While Biden ignored the crisis he created, Florida is 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 from the state of Florida as they provide additional law enforcement resources to help combat criminal activity and deter of deadly narcotics.”
A day ago, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said the state is mobilizing National Guard troops to help secure the border.
BIDEN ADMIN TRANSLATES 70% OF MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS POST-TITLE 42, BUCKING PREDICTIONS
“What happens at the border doesn’t stay there. Drugs and people are trafficked in every state in the country – including Mississippi,” said Reeves. “To keep Mississippians safe and limit the impact of open borders on our nation, the 112th Military Police Battalion of the Mississippi National Guard is mobilized and supporting Customs and Border Protection officers and agents along the Southwest border.”
The Biden administration has been cautious about such efforts, with officials recently suggesting the Florida move was politically motivated.
President Biden talks about inflation and supply chain issues in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Remarkable coordination is happening at the local level every day. We have seen, however, at times that Gov. DeSantis and [Texas Gov. Greg Abbott] take actions that are really done for purely political reasons and do not involve the kind of coordination that we really need to see at the border,” Department of Homeland Security official Blas Nunez-Neto told reporters last week.
“We are confident in our men and women on the front lines, ability to conduct their border operations in a safe, humane and secure manner. federal personnel,” he said.
Meanwhile, the numbers fell at the border compared to the highs seen in the days leading up to the end of Title 42, when agents encountered more than 10,000 migrants a day. The numbers have since fallen to an average of around 3,000 a day, officials said last week.
