Current:Home > StocksArizona’s governor is sending the state’s National Guard to the border to help with a migrant influx -MoneyFlow Academy
Arizona’s governor is sending the state’s National Guard to the border to help with a migrant influx
View
Date:2025-04-15 19:29:39
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s governor on Friday ordered the state’s National Guard to the border with Mexico to help federal officials manage an 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 am taking action where the federal government won’t,” Hobbs said.
It was unclear when the 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 officers reopen the border crossing that was indefinitely closed Dec. 4.
Customs and Border Protection has said shutting down the official crossing was necessary to allow personnel stationed there to help Border Patrol agents manage the hundreds of migrants illegally crossing in that area daily.
Although remote, the crossing is a popular route for Arizonans traveling to the Mexican resort of Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of the border on the northern shores of the Sea of Cortez.
Hobbs said the National Guard members will be stationed at multiple locations along the southern border, including around Lukeville.
There, they will support state and local agencies engaged in law enforcement, including interdiction of illegal drugs and human trafficking.
The San Miguel crossing located farther east on the Tohono O’odham Nation is also seeing 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 Jose, chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation. “We made clear that no National Guard would be deployed to the Nation and her office has agreed. Today’s action by the Governor is a necessary step in addressing the current crisis at the border.”
Hobbs said the Biden administration had not responded to her request that the U.S. government reimburse Arizona for border security spending.
Customs and Border Protection officials said they did not have an immediate response to the governor’s decision.
The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, National Guard confirmed Friday afternoon it was activating members.
Major Gen. Kerry L. Muehlenbeck, who oversees the Arizona National Guard, noted that in September it wrapped up a 30-month active-duty mission providing support to law enforcement agencies in southern Arizona.
Muehlenbeck said the earlier mission provided logistics, 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 migrants as political pawns and to politicize and pander instead of working on real solutions,” Grijalva said in a statement.
veryGood! (34836)
Related
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Louisiana House greenlights Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax cuts
- Ariana Grande's Brunette Hair Transformation Is a Callback to Her Roots
- Deion Sanders doubles down on vow to 99-year-old Colorado superfan
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- 'I heard it and felt it': Chemical facility explosion leaves 11 hospitalized in Louisville
- Man Found Dead in Tanning Bed at Planet Fitness Gym After 3 Days
- Georgia public universities and colleges see enrollment rise by 6%
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Opinion: Chris Wallace leaves CNN to go 'where the action' is. Why it matters
Ranking
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Voyager 2 is the only craft to visit Uranus. Its findings may have misled us for 40 years.
- Patricia Heaton criticizes media, 'extremists' she says 'fear-mongered' in 2024 election
- Some women are stockpiling Plan B and abortion pills. Here's what experts have to say.
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Homes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce burglarized, per reports
- Judge moves to slash $38 million verdict in New Hampshire youth center abuse case
- Krispy Kreme is giving free dozens to early customers on World Kindness Day
Recommendation
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
Multi-State Offshore Wind Pact Weakened After Connecticut Sits Out First Selection
Why Officials Believe a Missing Kayaker Faked His Own Death and Ran Off to Europe
Denver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
Olivia Munn Randomly Drug Tests John Mulaney After Mini-Intervention
Charles Hanover: Caution, Bitcoin May Be Entering a Downward Trend!
Chris Evans Shares Thoughts on Starting a Family With Wife Alba Baptista