Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has joined several other Republican states in sending National Guard troops to the southern border. The move is an attempt to assist Texas amid a crisis of record-high illegal immigration in recent years.
Gov. Youngkin claimed the crisis has affected the entire nation, turning “every state into a border state.” He continued to say that there is a failure in leadership at the federal level, and states have to take matters into their own hands. The governor then explained the importance of securing the southern border in preventing the inflow of lethal drugs, fighting human trafficking, and dealing with a humanitarian crisis.
Youngkin announced 100 Virginian National Guard troops would be deployed to Texas following a briefing from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has requested assistance from other states to mitigate the crisis. Different states have joined Youngkin, including Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged over 1,100 state resources to aid Texas. This includes 101 Highway Patrol officials, 200 Department of Law Enforcement officers, 800 National Guard troops, and more.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also recently announced that his state would send National Guard resources to Texas. McMaster said it was in the best interest of the “safety and security of South Carolinians” to assist at the southern border. The governor also spoke about preventing drug cartels, criminals, and terrorists from “peddling their poison” into the United States via the southern border. Tennessee announced it would send 100 national guard troops, with Nebraska pledging the support of 10 state troopers in Texas.
In 2021, there were over 1.7 million migrant encounters at the southern border, with more than 2.3 million in 2022. At the end of April this year, there have been over 1.4 million encounters. According to the Pew Research Center, the monthly encounters between U.S. Border Patrol and illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border have remained at historically high levels not seen for decades. Furthermore, an encounter is defined as either an illegal immigrant being taken into custody or being expelled from the southern border. This does not take into account those who have successfully crossed the border without being detected.
The U.S. has seen a spike in fentanyl-related overdose deaths in recent years, where 90 percent of opioid overdoses involved the deadly drug. Furthermore, the DEA seized enough fentanyl last year to kill every American. According to a report from the Texas Comptroller earlier this year, fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. In Texas alone, there were nearly 1,700 overdose deaths in 2021.
Earlier this year, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Twitter that Texas is constructing its own border wall, demonstrating that the state is taking the issue into its own hands. Furthermore, the governor invoked the “invasion clause” last year to take “unprecedented measures” in defending Texas from an “invasion” of illegal immigration. Abbott has also been shipping immigrants to liberal cities, such as Washington, D.C., where some have arrived right outside the personal residence of Vice President Kamala Harris.
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The coordination between Republican-led states and Texas to secure the southern border displays the solidarity of the conservative movement in the United States.