Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday issued a Declaration of Emergency, announcing he’s deploying the Arizona National Guard to the state’s southern border.
Gov. Ducey says the deployment is to support local law enforcement efforts, as the nation experiences a rapid increase in total apprehensions and in migrant children taken into federal custody at the border.
"The U.S. Border Patrol is overwhelmed, local law enforcement and mayors are calling out for help," Ducey said. "Citizens in our border communities are concerned for their safety. And nonprofits, left to pickup the pieces of broken federal policies are strained."
Up to 250 Guard members will be going to border communities to support local law enforcement.
On the border the National Guard will:
-Assist with medical operations in detention centers.
-Install and maintain border cameras.
-Monitor and collect data from public safety cameras and analyze satellite imagery for the most current trends in smuggling corridors.
The state will provide up to $25 million in initial funding for the Guard’s border mission.
The governor, along with a number of Republican legislators and local elected officials, will be at the border Wednesday morning here in Yuma.
