Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday that he would deploy around 100 soldiers to the southern border and 21 support personnel. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and West Virginia Governor Jim Justice made similar commitments later that day. The move comes after Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested assistance from other states in dealing with the historic migrant crisis, which has been ongoing for three years. Florida, Mississippi, Iowa, Tennessee, and Nebraska have already pledged National Guard resources to the border. Republican governors run all eight contributing states.
"The ongoing border crisis facing our nation has turned every state into a border state," said Governor Youngkin. "As leadership solutions at the federal level fall short, states are answering the call to secure our southern border, reduce the flow of fentanyl, combat human trafficking and address the humanitarian crisis."
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June 03, 2023
According to official figures, there were over 1.7 million migrant encounters in FY 2021 and more than 2.3 million in FY22. As of the end of April, there have been over 1.4 million migrant encounters in FY23, with five months remaining in the fiscal year. Numbers surged ahead of the ending of Title 42 earlier this month, which allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the border due to COVID-19. There were widespread concerns that the termination of the order would lead to an even more enormous surge, but numbers have decreased sharply since the mandate ended.
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Governor Youngkin emphasized that deploying soldiers to southern border regions is essentially a response to pleas from Governor Abbott, who has requested help from other states in dealing with the crisis. The National Guard personnel will be tasked with securing the border, reducing the flow of Fentanyl, combating human trafficking, and addressing the humanitarian crisis.
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The availability of resources from Florida includes over 1,100 assets and personnel, including 101 Highway Patrol personnel, 200 Department of Law Enforcement officers, 800 National Guard soldiers, emergency management personnel, 17 unmanned drones, and ten vessels, including airboats. Tennessee announced a deployment of 100 National Guard members, while Nebraska announced the deployment of 10 state troopers.
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