PHOENIX — Arizona's governor on Friday ordered the state's National Guard to the border with Mexico to help federal officials manage the influx of migrants.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said she issued the executive order because “the federal government refuses to do its job to secure our border and keep our communities safe.”
“I take action where the federal government does not,” Hobbs said.
It was unclear when troops would arrive at the border and exactly how many would be mobilized.
Hobbs asked President Joe Biden's administration a week ago to mobilize 243 Arizona National Guard troops already in the Tucson Border Patrol sector, which includes Lukeville, Arizona, to help federal officers reopen the border crossing that closed on 4 December was closed indefinitely.
Customs and Border Protection has said closing the official border crossing was necessary to allow personnel stationed there to help Border Patrol agents manage the hundreds of migrants who cross illegally every day.
Although remote, the crossing is a popular route for Arizonans traveling to the Mexican resort town of Puerto Peñasco or Rocky Point, about 60 miles south of the border on the northern shore of the Sea of Cortez.
Hobbs said National Guard members will be stationed at multiple locations along the southern border, including around Lukeville.
There they will support state and local agencies involved in law enforcement, including the interdiction of illegal drugs and human trafficking.
The San Miguel border crossing, located further east on the Tohono O'odham Nation, also sees hundreds of migrants arriving daily, but tribal officials said the National Guard would not be stationed on the reservation.
“We are in close contact with Governor Hobbs on this matter,” said Verlon Jose, chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation. “We made it clear that no National Guard would be deployed to the nation and her office has agreed to that. “Today’s action by the Governor is a necessary step in addressing the current crisis at the border.”
Hobbs said the Biden administration had not responded to its request for the U.S. government to reimburse Arizona for border security expenses.
Customs and Border Protection officials said they had no immediate response to the governor's decision.
The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs National Guard confirmed Friday afternoon that it was activating members.
Maj. Gen. Kerry L. Muehlenbeck, who oversees the Arizona National Guard, noted that it completed a 30-month active-duty mission in support of law enforcement agencies in southern Arizona in September.
Muehlenbeck said the previous mission provided logistical, administrative, cyber and medical support.
U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, who represents southern Arizona, said he disagreed with Hobbs' executive order.
“But I appreciate that Governor Hobbs has rejected the ruthless and cruel tactics of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who have taken advantage of this crisis to inhumanely and illegally use migrants as political pawns and to politicize and pander instead of working on real solutions,” Grijalva said in a statement.