XPost: us.military.national-guard, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.so   
   iety.liberalism   
   XPost: misc.immigration.usa, alt.politics.republicans, talk.politics.guns   
   From: remailer@domain.invalid   
      
   Follow-up to:   
   Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2023 06:12:49 -0500   
      
   Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday ordered members of the National Guard to   
   southern Arizona to back up law enforcement agencies dealing with   
   issues connected to a surge in migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico   
   border.   
      
   “With this Executive Order, I am taking action where the federal   
   government won’t," Hobbs said in a statement. "But we can’t stand   
   alone, Arizona needs resources and manpower to reopen the Lukeville   
   crossing, manage the flow of migrants, and maintain a secure,   
   orderly and humane border. Despite continued requests for   
   assistance, the Biden administration has refused to deliver   
   desperately needed resources to Arizona’s border.”   
      
   Some details, including how many National Guard members would be   
   sent on the southern border mission, were not available. Hobbs'   
   order says that is up to the decision of Adjutant General Kerry   
   Muehlenbeck, the top Guard official in Arizona and head of the state   
   Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.   
      
   Hobbs' administration has previously acknowledged that National   
   Guard members cannot, without orders from the federal government,   
   staff the shuttered Lukeville Port of Entry.   
      
   The Biden administration's decision to close that port earlier this   
   month, citing the need for Customs and Border Protection staffers   
   elsewhere, has halted daily crossings and shuttered a key route to   
   Puerto Peñasco in Mexico. Residents in the town also known as Rocky   
   Point have described a "ghost town" atmosphere as a result that is   
   harming the tourism economy.   
      
   National Guard troops will be sent to several locations, including   
   near the Lukeville and San Miguel crossings, to help the Arizona   
   Department of Public Safety and local police agencies with   
   enforcement. That will include fentanyl interdiction, analytical   
   support and enforcement targeting human trafficking, according to   
   Hobbs' office.   
      
   Hobbs' order says the Arizona Department of Public Safety shall   
   increase operations along the border, though details were not   
   provided.   
      
   The Governor's Office said deploying the National Guard is the next   
   step in Operation SECURE, a multifaceted funding plan announced by   
   Hobbs a week ago. That plan includes millions of dollars earmarked   
   to cover the cost of sending Guard troops to communities near the   
   border.   
      
   Steps at border:Gov. Katie Hobbs presses Biden to reopen Lukeville   
   Port of Entry, shifts millions to the border   
      
   Hobbs visited the Lukeville port on Dec. 9 and met Friday morning at   
   her office with Gov. Alfonso Durazo of Sonora, the Mexican state   
   that borders Arizona. Hobbs posted on social media the meeting was   
   to “discuss ways we can work together to ensure the prompt re-   
   opening of the Lukeville Port of Entry and bring security and   
   stability to the Arizona-Mexico border."   
      
   With her latest executive order Friday, Hobbs follows suit of   
   several previous Arizona governors in using the National Guard to   
   support enforcement at the state's southern border. Former Gov. Doug   
   Ducey, a Republican, sent Guard members to the border on a 30-month   
   mission beginning in April 2021. Though numbers fluctuated   
   throughout the mission, about 300 Guard personnel were active at a   
   time, according to Guard spokesperson Capt. Erin Hannigan.   
      
   Those troops went home in September.   
      
   “Mobilizing forces swiftly in support of our state and nation has   
   been a longstanding mission for us, not a recent endeavor,”   
   Muehlenbeck said in a statement that noted the recently completed   
   mission. "The National Guard will continue to remain ready to   
   provide enhanced capabilities through the mobilization of well-   
   trained and well-equipped personnel.”   
      
   In crisis:Closed Lukeville border crossing has Puerto Peñasco facing   
   'catastrophic' economic impact   
      
   Hobbs' action marks a decisive step on a political issue of   
   prominence in the Grand Canyon State, and one on which there are no   
   catch-all solutions at her disposal. State powers to police the   
   border are limited because immigration policy and enforcement falls   
   to the federal government.   
      
   Deploying the National Guard was met with mixed reaction from   
   Arizona's representatives in Congress, including from Democrats.   
      
   "While it’s overdue, I’m glad to see Governor Hobbs sign today’s   
   executive order and take this necessary action to secure our   
   border," U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., said through a   
   spokesperson. "What will it take for President Biden to listen to   
   border communities, make this a priority and take just one step in   
   the right direction?”   
      
   What you need to know:Lukeville border crossing closed on way to   
   Rocky Point   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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