EL PASO, Texas (NewsNation) — Republican governors in 24 states, led by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, have thrown support behind Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for help in securing its border with Mexico.
“The federal government’s response handling the expiration of Title 42 has represented a complete failure of the Biden Administration,” the governors said in a joint statement, referring to the end of the pandemic-era health policy, which expired at midnight on May 11.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Idaho Gov. Brad Little are among the governors heeding Abbott’s call.
On Tuesday, the Texas governor urged his counterparts across the nation to step up to help his administration amid what he called “the federal government’s absence.”
In a letter to 49 governors, Abbott wrote, “The flood of illegal border activity invited by the Biden Administration flows directly across the southern border into Texas communities, but this crisis does not stop in our state.”
DeSantis said in a news release that Florida “stands ready to help defend the southern border and is deploying assets to aid Texas’ border security crisis.” His plan includes more than 1,000 assets and resources, including sending 800 soldiers, 200 Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers, 101 state troopers, and 20 wildlife officers, as well as five planes, drones, command vehicles and boats.
Idaho will send two state police units, whose officers, Texas authorities said, will work to stop drug trafficking in the Eagle Pass area.
Sources told NewsNation that troops sent by Florida and Idaho state officials plan to deploy along Texas’ southern border, including parts of the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Del Rio and Eagle Pass, through the next couple of weeks.
In addition to DeSantis and Little, states whose governors have pledged support include those of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
So far, no Democratic governors have responded to Abbott’s request. Neighboring border states including New Mexico, Arizona and California have not made any requests like Abbott’s.
The Biden administration deployed 1,500 military troops to the border and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent several thousand federal employees to help Border Patrol agents expedite processing into the U.S.
Meanwhile, Chicago is again seeing an influx of migrants who are camping out in police stations. Many of the migrants have nowhere to go, no food or water.
Many of them were deceived into coming to the U.S. — promised jobs and resources. Yet, they face a very different reality when they arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border and then make the journey to cities throughout the country.
Experts say that unless something happens at the policy level, cities will continue to face the same issues.