President Trump has ordered National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist with the halt of illegal immigration, which has been one of the most publicly debated items on the President’s agenda.
President Trump has the full support of Governor Phil Bryant, who in a statement that Mississippi’s National Guard is ready to go if they are called upon.
“I fully support the president’s position decision to deploy the National Guard to protect our border. The Mississippi National Guard will stand ready to receive the president’s orders,” the Governor said.
According to Fox News, arrests along the U.S. border with Mexico jumped to 50,308 in March, a 37 percent increase from February, and more than triple the same period last year. Border arrests rose 10 of the last 11 months after falling in April 2017 to the lowest since the Department of Homeland Security was created in 2003.
Congressman Steven Palazzo has also voiced his support for Trump’s decision. Palazzo, a member of the National Guard, emphasized the importance of border security to national security.
“The failure to enforce our current immigration laws has weakened our border security and has not adequately curbed the flow of illegal aliens and drugs into this country,” Palazzo said. “As a member of the Mississippi National Guard, I know our soldiers are capable and fully prepared to handle this task. While we work to construct the border wall, our National Guard will help assist the Border Patrol in fulfilling its mission and providing protection to American citizens.”
The National Guard released a statement amid the situation, stating that they will deploy the necessary resources to secure the southern border.
Joint statement from @SecNielsen and @DeptofDefense Secretary Mattis ⬇⬇⬇ pic.twitter.com/VfrqivV27e
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 7, 2018
On Friday, Defense Secretary James Mattis signed an order to send up to 4,000 soldiers to the border. As far as how long they’ll be there, Trump left that open-ended.
“[We’ll] probably keep them or a large portion of them until the wall is built,” Trump told Fox News.
Palazzo compared this action to a similar step taken during George W. Bush’s administration, which he says which resulted in the arrest of 173,000 illegal aliens, the seizure of 300,000 pounds of drugs, and the rescue of 100 individuals.
