Hobbs signed an executive order Friday afternoon that bashed President Joe Biden for the “unmitigated humanitarian crisis” across the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border and further attacked him for refusing to redirect federally assigned troops to a part of Arizona where thousands of immigrants per day have entered the country illegally for weeks.
Last week Gov. Hobbs sent a letter to President Biden asking him to reassign the Arizona National Guard to re-open the Lukeville Port of Entry. She signed an Executive Order to carry out the next step in Operation SECURE, mobilizing the National Guard to southern Arizona. There, they will assist the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies with enforcement activities, including fentanyl interdiction, analytical support, and human trafficking enforcement efforts.
“Yet again, the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep our communities safe,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “With this Executive Order, I am taking action where the federal government won’t. 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.”
The National Guard members will be stationed at multiple locations along the southern border, including near both the Lukeville Port of Entry and the San Miguel crossing.
As of Dec.15 thousands of Migrants are still coming into the Lukeville Port of Entry. The lack of Federal resources is creating a humanitarian crisis.
Hobbs also met on Friday with Alfonso Durazo, governor of the neighboring Mexican state Sonora, to discuss how to continue international commerce nearly two weeks after the Biden administration shut down the Lukeville port of entry. The U.S. government diverted customs officers who normally screen pedestrians and vehicles to instead help intake and process illegal immigrants who walk into the U.S. by going around the port of entry crossing.
Arizona has had its share of quick border fixes. Gov. Hobbs removed the DIY shipping containers that previous AZ Gov. Ducey put in. Hobbs inherited the shipping containers when she took office in January and started removing them and selling them. Ducey funded the container wall with cash from the Arizona Border Security Fund, created by the Republican-controlled Legislature last year to pay for the “construction, administration, and maintenance of a physical border fence.”
Arizonans are weary of how the Arizona National Guard will be utilized.
“I wonder if Hobbs will just ask the guard to pass out water bottles and welcome packages? Is the goal to stop illegal immigration or assist it,” said several comments on Hobbs Facebook.
Additionally, the Biden administration has failed to respond to Governor Hobbs’ request for reimbursement for border security spending.
Molly K Ottman Executive Editor/Journalist for Mountain Daily Star