Reacting to the border chaos they blame on President Biden’s policies, 26 Republican governors are uniting to address the consequent threats to their communities.
Through the newly formed American Governors Border Strike Force, the governors will share intelligence and analysis of state-level crimes connected to border security, the Washington Times reported.
Of major concern is the financing and mobility of cartels that smuggle people and drugs across the border to states across the nation, effectively making every state a border state. Fentanyl, in particular, has been flowing across the southern border amid record-high numbers of drug overdose deaths.
The coalition is led by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who say they have been forced to intervene to plug holes in border security created by President Biden’s reversal of President Trump’s policies.
Ducey said the American Governors’ Border Strike Force “will serve as a force multiplier in the fight against criminal activity directly tied to our border.”
“My thanks to my fellow governors who saw the problem and chose to be part of the solution,” he said.
Along with Arizona and Texas, the Times reported, the governors in the strike force are from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Meanwhile, a source told Axios on Tuesday that Biden and his top agency officials are considering not ending Title 42 on May 23, as planned. The measure has allowed border agents to turn away an about 1 million asylum seekers in the last year who come from countries plagued by an epidemic, such as COVID-19.
The Biden administration officials, according to Axios, acknowledged that ending Title 42 could bring about an unprecedented wave of illegal immigration.
At the White House on Wednesday, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked press secretary Jen Psaki if the president is discussing delaying the removal of Title 42.
Psaki said Title 42 is a health authority, which means the decision is up to the CDC, and the administration is preparing for it to end. She noted some Democrats oppose the expiration of Title 42 and there are other ideas that will be part of the debate.
Doocy also asked why Biden has confidence in Vice President Kamala Harris as his border czar despite the fact that March 2022 has seen 28% more migrant encounters at the border than March 2021, when she was assigned the task.
Psaki said Harris has been working on bilateral agreements with “transit countries” through which migrants travel and their home countries as well as Mexico.
See Psaki’s remarks at the White House on Wednesday:
via wnd
