TUCSON, Arizona — One week after sending a letter to President Biden, critiquing his administration’s handling of the border within her state, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D)announced she will send the state’s Army National Guard to the border. The soldiers will assist the Arizona Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies with security operations to include fentanyl interdiction, analytical support, and to suppress human trafficking.
On Friday, Hobbs signed an Executive Order mobilizing the soldiers as part of Arizona’s Operation SECURE. Launched in December, the operation created a new Border Security Office within the State’s Department of Homeland Security. The office will be financed for the first year with $2 Million from American Rescue Plan funding. The move to mobilize the National Guard and create a new border security office comes as waves of migrants have flooded Arizona border cities in recent weeks.
Hobbs is one of the latest Democrats to openly criticize the Biden administration over its handling of the migrant crisis gripping border communities and cities across the country as they struggle to deal with record-breaking migrant crossings. In her announcement of the signing of the executive order mobilizing the National Guard, Hobbs told reporters “Yet again, the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep our communities safe. With this Executive Order, I am taking action where the federal government won’t. But we can’t stand alone, Arizona needs resources and manpower to reopen the Lukeville crossing, manage the flow of migrants, and maintain a secure, orderly, and humane border.”
As reported by Breitbart Texas, an increase in migrant crossings near Lukeville, Arizona, led to the closure of that city’s only international port of entry on December 4. The closure resulted in financial losses on both sides of the border as commercial businesses shuttered or reduced their hours of operation due to eliminating cross-border traffic. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to staff the port of entry have been redirected to assist the Border Patrol in processing and transporting the thousands of migrants crossing into Arizona daily. According to Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent John R. Modlin of the Tucson Border Patrol Sector, more than 37,000 migrants were apprehended within the Sector during the course of the first 14 days of December.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) visited the border city of Lukeville just one day after sending the scathing letter to the White House urging the President to reopen the city’s only port of entry. Hobbs is also demanding $512 million in federal funds to offset state expenses to cope with the migrant surge into her state. Hobbs described the closure of the port, writing, “The decision to close the Lukeville Port of Entry has led to an unmitigated humanitarian crisis in the area and has put Arizona’s safety and commerce at risk.”
Hobbs added, “Our ports of entry are essential to our state and our country’s economy, and it is vital that they be properly staffed and resourced to continue to fuel economic growth in the state.” Despite the governor’s pleas, the unabated flow of migrants continues, and the town of Lukeville remains shuttered.
According to Hobbs, the White House has yet to respond to her request to reimburse the state’s migrant expenses or address the closure of the Lukeville Port of Entry.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.