These Republican Governors Are Doing What Biden Won’t Do

AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Well, at least someone is trying to deal with the migrant crisis at the southern border. Several Republican governors across the country are sending state law enforcement officials to the border to assist Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in handling the rapid influx of migrants attempting to enter the United States legally and illegally.

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem recently joined a number of other GOP governors in deploying National Guard troops to the southern border.

“The Biden Administration has failed,” she said during the Tuesday announcement. “The border is a national security crisis that requires the kind of sustained response only the National Guard can provide.”

CNN reported that governors of Arkansas, Florida, Nebraska, and Idaho, have pledged to send troops to help alleviate the problems at the southern border. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week declared:

Where the federal government has failed, the states are stepping up into doing our best to fill the void.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little indicated that he was “evaluating [the state’s] resources” to assess how they could help.

Of course, these moves are not without opposition.

Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske told CNN:

I think immigration is the sole purview of the federal government. It isn’t like drug laws that are shared with the states. No state can impose its own immigration laws or rules.

The former commissioner, who served under the Obama administration, referred to the moves as “political theater.”

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Typically, border issues fall under the federal government’s purview. However, Kerlikowske did acknowledge that the Texas Department of Public Safety, as well as National Guard troops, have been used to assist CBP.

A spokesperson for the agency told CNN that it “continues to leverage our longstanding relationships with state and local law enforcement, including deconflicting operations in the border region and responding to callouts from other law enforcement agencies,” and further explained that it “defers to the State of Texas to speak to any steps they are taking to increase their enforcement posture.”

The announcements made by these Republican governors have already ruffled feathers on the left. CNN and the Washington Post have already complained about the moves, and there will likely be more wailing and gnashing of teeth as GOP governors join in.

The bottom line is that the Biden administration has not bothered to step up to the plate when it comes to managing the influx of migrants to the border. Indeed, the president reversed most of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, which not only served as an invitation to people living south of the border but also made it nearly impossible for federal agencies to effectively deal with the problem.

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Under Biden, we have seen a return to the “Catch and Release” policy which has allowed a significant number of illegal aliens to remain in the United States. Moreover, it has placed migrant children in horrific conditions and empowered Mexican drug cartels to smuggle and traffic human beings over the border. Biden’s policies have made business great for these criminal enterprises, which also smuggle drugs into the country as well.

Democrats and their close friends and allies in the activist media are simply attempting to deflect from the ineptitude coming from the White House. If Biden and company were up to the task, there would be no need for Republicans to step in. Unfortunately, the president doesn’t seem to have answers.

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