Tag: Arizona National Guard

Arizona State Senator Seeks to Keep National Guard Troops Stateside

Neil Jones

A Senate bill (SB) from State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) passed through the Senate Tuesday to protect Arizona’s National Guard from being deployed into active combat unless there is a declaration of war.

“If the president wants to use the Arizona national guard to fight wars halfway across the world, then it can only be done after a majority of the people’s representatives vote to send them there,” Rogers said on the Senate Floor. “If Congress refuses to vote, then it’s a war the Arizona National Guard should not be fighting.”

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Arizona Leaders Disappointed at Ducey’s Plan with 25 Governors to Secure the Border

Rachel Alexander

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and 25 other governors launched the American Governors’ Border Strike Force on Tuesday to combat the expected surge in migrants and crime on the border when the Biden administration lifts the Title 42 restrictions in May. A statement from Ducey describes it as “a partnership to do what the federal government won’t: secure the southern border,” but some Arizona leaders are disappointed, believing it doesn’t go far enough.

Leading gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake expressed her skepticism of Ducey’s plan during an interview on The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, saying he’s only taken “little pieces” from her border security plan. “We already have an invasion at our border … It’s going to get worse … the floodgates are open,” she said. “The question is, do we have the elected officials who are willing to do the tough work. And that means finishing that wall on the border. The materials are right there. The federal government abandoned them at the border and we need to take those materials back and finish the wall and get troops on the border.” 

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Yuma Rep. Tim Dunn: Arizona’s Spike in Illegal Border-Crossers is Thanks to Biden’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Applying Only to Texas

Rachel Alexander

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sent the Arizona National Guard and law enforcement officers to the Arizona border with Mexico near Yuma to address a surge in border crossings, which Arizona Rep. Tim Dunn (R-Yuma) has called for and believes will help combat the drug cartels, but not the number of migrants crossing due to the Biden administration’s policies. 

Dunn told The Arizona Sun Times that although only the federal government is allowed by law to deal with the migrants, Arizona troops and law enforcement officers can perform other tasks for the Border Patrol, freeing them up to handle the influx of migrants. He said the migrants “do want to be checked in to the Border Patrol. The last leg of their trip is to get a free ride to another part of the country — the Border Patrol is performing an Uber function.”

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Gov. Ducey, Arizona National Guard Won’t Answer Sun Times Questions About Joining Oklahoma National Guard’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Rebuke

Rachel Alexander
National Guard members in uniform, wearing masks

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona National Guard did respond to queries from The Arizona Sun Times regarding whether Arizona would follow the lead of Oklahoma and its National Guard decision not to enforce the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

A source familiar with the Arizona National Guard’s vaccine policy told that commanders in the Arizona National Guard have already begun ordering troops to get the vaccine.

The source said based on their understanding of the internal dynamics of the Arizona Guard Ducey could reverse this vaccination push and follow Oklahoma’s lead.

While Ducey remains silent, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, now running for the 2022 GOP Senate nomination, sued the Biden administration twice over the mandate.

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