Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Thursday that he will travel to the southern border to visit the members of the state’s National Guard that have been deployed there since October.
The members of the National Guard are assisting in attempts to reduce the large surge of illegal immigration and drug trafficking, which has increased in recent months.
“The men and women of the Tennessee National Guard are playing a significant role in quelling the most severe border crisis we’ve seen in 20 years. I want to personally commend the more than 300 Tennesseans who are serving our country and on the front lines of this crisis,” Lee said of his planned trip.
According to Lee’s office, there are 300 Tennessee National Guard members at various locations along the border in Texas to provide assistance to Customs and Border Protection.
In recent weeks, a growing number of Republican governors from across the country have attempted to assist in the mission to secure the southern border. After a joint letter from Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Texas Governor Greg Abbott asking for help, over half a dozen states have sent additional resources to the area.
“Texas and Arizona have stepped up to secure the border in the federal government’s absence, and now the Emergency Management Assistance Compact gives your State a chance to stand strong with us,” the governors said when asking for assistance.
The Biden administration has been reluctant to take action to help border states in controlling the surge.
After Vice President Kamala Harris was placed in charge of the administration’s efforts relating to the border, she had only visited a small section of the border, after months of refusal.
However, experts argue that El Paso, the location of the Harris visit, is not a hot spot of the ongoing crisis.
“You don’t go to El Paso to see what is actually going on at the border,” explained president of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
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