The state of Arizona has declared a state of emergency as migrants continue to flock to the southern border. The state is the first in the nation to declare a state of emergency because of the border crossing surge this year.
Governor Doug Ducey is sending 250 National Guard members to the southern border in an effort to aid law enforcement as migrants and thousands of undocumented migrants seek refuge in the United States. Texas also deployed nearly 500 National Guard members to tackle the situation on its borders last month, but Governor Gregg Abbot did not declare a state of emergency. In a statement released by the governor's office, Ducey explains, "The situation in our border communities is just as bad—if not worse—than the coverage we've been seeing.”
This sentiment rings true as news outlets flock to the border for coverage on the crisis and routinely cross paths with migrants who are entering the United States.
In a video press release earlier this week, the governor did not mince words in placing blame on the Biden administration and its role in the migrant surge. Ducey explains that the administration is “divorced from reality” and that when they are aware of the magnitude of what is going on at the border, they ignore it by “putting their heads in the sand.” Ducey goes on to say, "It's become evidently clear that Arizona needs the National Guard, and the White House is aware of that. Yet, to this day, there has been no action from this administration, and it doesn’t look like they are going to act any time soon. If this administration isn't going to do anything, then we will."
According to the governor's office, the troops will not be participating in law-enforcement operations. Rather, the focus will be on providing support for agents and law enforcement. The role of the National Guardsman will be to help with the medical needs in the detention centers, many of which are crowded. In a recent effort to help with this overcrowding, the state is working on building a migrant detention center in the Tucson area.
Guardsmen will also install border security cameras and will aid in the monitoring and collection of data from those cameras. In the past month, surveillance cameras at the border have captured stunning images of migrants, including the now-viral footage of a smuggler dropping a three-year-old and five-year-old from the 14-foot border fence. Agents were able to locate the siblings and are working on efforts to reunite them with their mother who lived in the states.
Additionally, the guardsmen will also closely examine satellite footage to compile data that would give law enforcement information on how smugglers are helping migrants cross and what the current patterns for smuggling are.
In March, the southern border was inundated with migrants, leading to over 170,000 apprehensions, 19,000 of which were apprehensions of unaccompanied minors. This number is nearly four times greater than the same time last year. Many pundits and conservative lawmakers have called the crisis a direct result of Biden’s stance on immigration. Lawmakers including Texas Senator John Cornyn criticized the Biden administration for walking back the harsher response implemented by the previous administration.
State officials have offered their support for the governor's call on the National Guard. The Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels explained, “Border towns and officers need support as the crisis at the border escalates. I’m grateful to Governor Ducey for taking action and sending the National Guard to help. We welcome immigrants with open arms — but it needs to be done legally and orderly to ensure we are protecting our communities, state, and nation.”
As part of the declaration, the governor's office has announced that they will provide an initial $25 million in funding for the mission.
