Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs signed on Friday an executive order that slams the Biden administration and deploys the National Guard to Arizona’s southern border with Mexico.
“Yet again, the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep our communities safe,” Hobbs said in a statement.
“I’m taking action to fix the migrant crisis where the federal government will not,” she announced on X. “As the next step in Operation SECURE, I just signed an executive order to mobilize Arizona’s National Guard to our Southern Border effective immediately.”
I’m taking action to fix the migrant crisis where the federal government will not.
As the next step in Operation SECURE, I just signed an executive order to mobilize Arizona’s National Guard to our Southern Border effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/U7TbVxW9vJ
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) December 15, 2023
Launched earlier this month, “SECURE” stands for “Safety, Enforcement, Coordination, & Uniform Response.”
According to the governor’s website, “Operation SECURE will create a new Border Security Office within the Department of Homeland Security. The office, funded for the year with $2 million from ARPA, will serve as a hub of coordination for border security operations to ensure local, state, and federal assets are being properly leveraged to keep Arizonans safe and maintain a secure, humane, and orderly border.”
The order follows a decision by U.S. Customs and Border Protection “to close the Lukeville, Ariz., port of entry on Dec. 1, taking effect on Dec. 4 until further notice,” The Hill reports.
(Video: YouTube)
“The decision to close the Lukeville Port of Entry has led to an unmitigated crisis in the area and put Arizona’s safety and commerce at risk,” Hobbs said in a statement. “Our ports of entry are vital for security and trade, and insufficient resources hinder our ability to properly manage the influx of migrants who have continued to come to Lukeville.”
Hobbs noted that Arizona is “doing everything we can to secure the border” with the launch of Operation SECURE but said, “we are at a breaking point.”
“We need the federal government to step up, do its job, and bring security and order to our border,” she said.
Friday’s action makes good on the Dec. 8 SECURE promise that, “unless the Biden Administration promptly reopens the port of entry, the operation will mobilize up to $5 million for the National Guard to augment and support the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies along the southern border, including fentanyl interdiction efforts.”
“The Governor has written a letter to President Biden urging that the 243 National Guard members already in the Tucson Sector be put to use to support reopening the Lukeville Point of Entry,” according to the SECURE press release. “Additionally, the Governor billed the federal government for $512,529,333 in reimbursements for ongoing border operations resulting from the federal government’s failure to secure the Arizona border.”
“Moving forward, the state will regularly seek reimbursement from the federal government,” Hobbs’ office vowed.
“With this EO, the National Guard will be stationed in southern Arizona, where they will assist law enforcement agencies with enforcement activities,” Hobbs wrote on X. “But Arizona can’t stand alone. We need additional resources & manpower from the federal government to reopen the Lukeville crossing, manage the flow of migrants, and maintain a secure, orderly and humane border.”
But Arizona can’t stand alone. We need additional resources & manpower from the federal government to reopen the Lukeville crossing, manage the flow of migrants, and maintain a secure, orderly and humane border.
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) December 15, 2023
Hobbs’ EO “was a notable rebuke of President Joe Biden by a fellow Democrat,” Reuters reported on Friday.
The move is evidence of a contentious crack in what is typically a united Democratic front, as an increasing number of progressive Democrats voice concerns that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will cave to Republican demands and make what they perceive to be unacceptable border concessions during national supplemental package negotiations.
Senate Dems wary that Schumer will betray them, cut border deal with GOP: ‘HELL NO’ https://t.co/uKDtGhaZey via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) December 16, 2023
“If [Schumer] thinks he can send us home for the weekend, quietly cave to Republicans’ anti-immigrant demands while nobody is watching, and then ambush Democrats expecting us to vote yes with a smile, he is TERRIBLY MISTAKEN,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) fumed on Thursday.
“[Schumer] and those Democrats who are contemplating these proposals need to understand that these Trumpian policies will do nothing to address our challenges at the border and will only exacerbate the problem,” he stated. “Immigration advocates should speak up — HELL NO is the message.”
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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