South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announced this week that she will be sending dozens of National Guard troops to the southern border to assist her Republican colleague Gov. Greg Abbott’s response to the immigration crisis.
In a press release, Noem said she will send "at least 50" member of the South Dakota National Guard to the border "later this summer."
"The border crisis is growing worse under President Biden’s willful inaction. Across the country, crime rates, drug overdoses and human trafficking have all skyrocketed, because our border remains a warzone," Noem said.
"Our National Guard soldiers are the best prepared to tackle this challenge. They have proven that they can serve with excellence in a situation such as this, and I am confident that they will do so again."
The press release saidthat Noem is "answering the call" as she joins a list of 12 other governors who have agreed to send troops to the border to assist Abbott's border response.
Noem sent National Guard troops to the border in 2021 on a 30- to 60-day deployment at the request of Abbott.
ARK. GOV SANDERS DEPLOYS NATIONAL GUARD TO SOUTHERN BORDER TO HELP TEXAS TACKLE BORDER CRISIS
There were more than 1.7 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2021, and more than 2.3 million in FY22. Over 1.4 million migrant encounters were recorded through the end of April in FY23 with more than 5 months left in the fiscal year.
"Monthly border encounters have increased by 536% since President Biden took office. Average monthly encounters are up to 204,566 to-date in fiscal year 2023," the press release stated.
"Prior to the Biden Administration, recorded border encounters had only ever been higher than 200,000 in one month in history, which was 23 years ago," it said.
