Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will be sending an additional 125 members of the South Dakota National Guard to the southern border.
“Our South Dakota National Guard is the very best in the country, and they are prepared for the sustained response the national security crisis at our southern border requires,” Noem said in a statement released Wednesday. “I am hopeful that this mission indicates the Biden Administration is waking up to the devastating situation at the border.”
Today, I approved the deployment of an additional 125 members of the @SD_Guard to the southern border.
Our SD Guard is the best in the country. They’re prepared for the kind of sustained response the national security crisis at our border requires.
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) July 7, 2021
Noem announced June 29 she would be sending up to 50 National Guard troops to the southwest border for 30 to 60 days.
“The Biden Administration has failed in the most basic duty of the federal government: keeping the American people safe,” the governor said. “The border is a national security crisis that requires the kind of sustained response only the National Guard can provide. We should not be making our own communities less safe by sending our police or Highway Patrol to fix a long-term problem President Biden’s Administration seems unable or unwilling to solve. My message to Texas is this: help is on the way.” (RELATED: COVID-19 Infections Surge In Crowded Immigration Detention Centers)
The 125 additional troops, who will be deployed for up to nine to 12 months and will be in a federal pay status, are members of the South Dakota National Guard’s 1742nd Transportation Company, stationed in Sioux Falls and Flandreau, according to the recent news release.
The deployed troops will be joining approximately 3,000 other National Guard members from several other states in providing non-law enforcement support to U.S. customs agents and security along the southern border in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Many people, especially Republicans, aren’t happy with the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis.