MCALLEN, Texas, U.S. (AP) – South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem went on a whirlwind tour of the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday, riding on military vehicles, visiting troops and he positioned himself as a very tough person on an issue that will undoubtedly occupy an important place in the presidential debates of 2024.
The Republican governor flew to McAllen, Texas, to see the nearly 50 members of her state’s National Guard who volunteered for a 30-day deployment. He learned that they have encountered many migrant children and that troops are eager to be located where the most people cross the border each night.
“The reality is surprising,” Noem told The Associated Press after meeting with the troops. “What our soldiers are looking at is a porous border.”
The ambitious governor’s first visit to the border gives her the opportunity to pick up the path where former President Donald Trump left off by making heavy-handed immigration measures a key issue for the Republican Party.
Noem enthusiastically joined the political feud with President Joe Biden after a spike in border crossings by dispatching members of the South Dakota Guard to help Texas stop people crossing the border illegally. to charge them with state crimes.
But the governor has also gotten into a border policy debate that has no easy answers. He described how members of the National Guard are eager to help with border security, but have also been pushed into an environment where it is difficult to determine why people are crossing.
Large numbers of immigrants have reached the United States border with Mexico, and many of them have turned themselves in to Border Patrol agents seeking asylum. This month, US authorities reported that in June they had intercepted 55,805 people traveling in family groups with children, 25% more than the previous month. Still, that number remains well below the May 2019 high of 88,587.
For any Republican running for a presidential nomination in 2024, a trip to the US-Mexico border may prove as necessary as visiting states that hold early primaries.
Among the governors who have joined Governor Greg Abbott’s initiative, Noem and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are the only ones to visit so far.
Noem posed for photos with troops stationed on the Rio Grande (or Rio Grande), inspected military trucks with night vision, and held a press conference with the border as a backdrop.
However, Noem’s journey comes with her own political baggage: She was heavily criticized for accepting $ 1 million from a Republican donor to fund the deployment. Military experts said it set a disturbing precedent that sent the message that military troops could be deployed at the urging of private donors.
But Noem ignored those concerns and instead presented the donation as proof that she is conservative on the budget. By accepting the donation, he argued, he was saving taxpayer money. Plus, when Tennessee billionaire Willis Johnson called to offer him $ 1 million, she was ready to join the border fight; He was only deliberating whether to send police officers or National Guard troops.
Meanwhile, Texas authorities last week began arresting people along the border on charges of trespassing. At least 10 people were jailed, but the number of migrant arrests could rise to 100 or 200 a day, according to authorities.
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