PHOENIX — Governor Ducey is considering calling a state of emergency along the Arizona border so the federal government will pay for national guardsmen to be sent to help, according to a spokesman.
On Friday, the governor tweeted out that he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the situation along the border and the need for national guardsmen to assist local authorities.
We need to resolve the issues at the border before they get even worse, and Arizona is ready to partner with the federal government to strengthen our borders and improve our immigration system. I spoke to @SecMayorkas this morning about our concerns and solutions. 1/ pic.twitter.com/wQex6StCDv
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) March 26, 2021
Ducey said he was asking the federal government to foot the bill. A spokesman for the governor said, “this crisis is the result of the federal government not doing its job. It’s their responsibility to secure the border. They should pay.”
Earlier this month, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, deployed 500 national guard troops to the southern border with Mexico. Abbott said the troops are charged with stopping illegal activity at the border. “We will work to step up and try to fill the gap that the federal government is leaving open by making sure we deploy every resource,” Governor Abbott said.
From April 2020 through February 2021, border apprehensions increased 460%, according to the governor's office. Nearly all of the apprehensions occurred during the Trump Administration.
Joe Biden is now President and Ducey views it as his problem to resolve.
In 2018, Arizona national guardsmen were among the 4,000 sent to the southwest border and the federal government footed the bill.
The guard was not directly involved with border security and the mission ended in December.
Governor Ducey wants them back, but for that to happen he may be required to issue a state of emergency along the border if he wants to the federal government to pay for it.
