26 Republican Governors Launch 'Border Strike Force,' Declare Biden Has 'Failed to Secure the Border'
Almost 250 years after a group of freedom-lovers refused to stand by as a remote government worked against their best interests, 26 Republican governors are launching a partnership to protect their citizens from the chaos at the southern border that has become a hallmark of the Biden administration.
On Tuesday, the 247th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, Republican governors announced the formation of the American Governors’ Border Strike Force, which will respond to the ripple effects of spiraling illegal immigration that include human trafficking and illegal drugs, according to Fox News.
“President Biden has failed to secure the border, and it has deteriorated into a war zone that is threatening all of our communities,” Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said.
“South Dakota has sent the National Guard to the border. Republican governors are launching a Border Strike Force to secure our communities and partner together to protect our people,” she said.
Border security has always been a federal responsibility until the Biden Administration.
I’m proud to join my fellow governors in launching the American Governors’ Border Strike Force.
States are stepping up to secure the border in the federal government’s absence. pic.twitter.com/tgUM5A0Zq1
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 19, 2022
The model is built on a Border Strike Force launched by Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in 2015. Ducey and Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last year worked with multiple states to have a National Guard presence at the border to protect against crimes taking place as illegal immigrants swept across ranches and through communities.
“What we’re doing in Arizona works,” Ducey said in a statement.
“But this is not just an Arizona issue, it’s a national issue. If our entire southern border isn’t secure, our nation isn’t secure. As dangerous transnational criminal organizations continue to profit from holes in the border and fill our communities with drugs, it’s no coincidence that we’re seeing historic levels of opioid-related deaths,” he said.
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming are all involved.
Although North Dakota is a long way from the southern border, Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said that the issues at the border are not limited to communities overrun by illegal immigrants.
“With the Biden administration failing to address the crisis at the southern border, our states are coming together to share information, coordinate law enforcement training and review existing laws to protect our citizens from the dangerous consequences of record-breaking illegal immigration and ensure that drug trafficking, human trafficking and other border-related crimes are investigated and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Burgum said, according to KFGO.
The Biden administration has signaled it will remove a public health rule known as Title 42 on May 23. That Trump-era rule allows border officials to turn away illegal immigrants deemed a potential public health risk due to COVID-19.
That is expected to increase the numbers of illegal immigrants crossing the border, a number that surged past 200,000 in March.
New: #BidenBorderCrisis breaks another record.
In the month of March 221,303 illegal immigrants were encountered at the border. pic.twitter.com/a6W0aoKseS
— GOP (@GOP) April 20, 2022
Customs and Border Protection data indicated that border patrol officials encountered 221,303 illegal immigrants in March, according to figures in a court filing responding to a suit from governors who want to keep Title 42 in place, according to ABC.
The filing said that in March, Title 42 was used to expel 109,549 illegal immigrants.
ABC’s report said that the largest single-month total of illegal immigrants arrested is 220,063 in March 2000.
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