Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a directive Thursday to deploy members of the state’s National Guard to the southern border with Mexico. This comes after the pandemic-era immigration policy known as Title 42, which blocked entry for migrants seeking asylum during the COVID-19 pandemic, ended last month.
According to a press release, 80 guardsmen will go to the Mexico border for a month-long deployment beginning July 1. Sanders said the troops will assist the Texas National Guard in combating issues such as “illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.”
Sanders joins several other Republicans, including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in sending troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Arkansas has sent military service members to the border in the past. Between June 2006 and July 2008, the Arkansas National Guard deployed troops in support of Operation Jump Start, contributing over 750 soldiers and airmen to assist the Border Patrol. Currently, the Guard has 50 soldiers engaged in operations in Texas.
Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson also deployed troops to the border in 2018 and 2021.
Dozens of Arkansas National Guard personnel are heading to the Mexico border as the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42 ends.