As the situation at the southern border continues to deteriorate, with thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants pouring across every week, if not every day, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has announced the South Dakota National Guard will deploy to the border to assist Texas in its attempts to keep the border secure.
The move comes alongside Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas leading the charge and shutting down the border in the Shelby Park area, sparking a fight with the Biden Administration. In doing so, Gov. Abbott called for aid from other red state governors who can assist him by deploying their state guard resources to the border and help secure it.
Announcing the deployment in a press release on Tuesday, February 20, Gov. Noem’s office said, “Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she will deploy South Dakota National Guard troops to the southern border later this spring. This will be the fifth time that the South Dakota National Guard has deployed to the southern border to assist in border security efforts during the Noem Administration.”
Her office added, “This deployment answers the call from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to help Texas respond to the crisis at the southern border. 60 South Dakota National Guard soldiers will deploy to the southern border on a rolling basis over a three-month period. Further specifics about the unit’s mission may not be answerable due to security considerations.”
Adding further context, it provided, “Last month, Governor Noem and the South Dakota legislature joined together to hold the first joint session in the nation responding to Texas’ efforts to secure the border in the face of threats from the Biden Administration. Governor Noem delivered a special address to the joint session of the legislature; shortly thereafter, the legislature became the first in the nation to pass a resolution of support for Texas’ efforts and for states’ rights.”
Governor Noem, for her part, said, “The border is a warzone, so we’re sending soldiers. These soldiers’ primary mission will be construction of a wall to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, drug cartels, and human trafficking into the United States of America.”
Further, in an address to the legislature, she commented on rules of engagement for the troopers, saying, “Our troops have been hampered by federal restrictions when they’ve been deployed to the border in the past. I don’t want South Dakota soldiers to facilitate an invasion – I want them to stand up and stop it. So we are talking to Texas about what rules of engagement can look like to make sure that happens.”
Noting the extent of the border crisis under President Biden, Noem’s office added, “December represented the first month in American history that border encounters totaled more than 300,000. Monthly border encounters have increased by 452% since President Biden took office. Total overdoses have increased by almost 20% across America in that time period as a result of the drug trafficking at the southern border.”
Gov. Abbott recently spoke about the border crisis alongside numerous other red state governors. Watch him do so here:
Featured image credit: Office of Gov. Kristi Noem
"*" indicates required fields