Ohio Governor Mike DeWine authorized a contingent from the Ohio State Highway Patrol to assist local law enforcement in Texas with border surveillance.
The authorization by DeWine came in response to a request for assistance from Texas Governor Greg Abbott in resolving the escalating border crisis, which has been marked by surging immigration rates and overburdened local law enforcement.
According to a press release, Abbot wrote a letter to fellow governors claiming that following the lifting of Title 42 by the Biden administration, there was a “surge in illegal immigration and transnational criminal activity” in his state.
The Biden administration lifted Title 42 last month. The policy, which former President Donald Trump put into place during the COVID-19 outbreak, forbids migrants from obtaining asylum, enabling border officers to quickly send many of them back to Mexico.
Along with Ohio, governors from Florida, Idaho, and other Republican-led states have dispatched more troops to Texas.
DeWine has authorized the dispatch of 14 troopers and supervisors from the Ohio State Highway Patrol to Texas in the upcoming weeks.
During the two-week assignment, the Ohio State Highway Patrol will not be tasked with making arrests, instead, their goal is to assist with border surveillance operations and aid Texas law enforcement personnel currently on the ground.
According to Lt. Governor Jon Husted, this is the second group of troopers to respond to support Texas law enforcement in nearly two years. Gov. DeWine previously authorized Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers to respond to Texas in July 2021.
“Again, Ohio will be sending members of our Ohio State Highway Patrol to our Southern border,” Husted said.
Ohio has maintained a constant presence at the border since DeWine sent about 115 troops of the Ohio National Guard to support Southwest Border operations at the request of the National Guard Bureau and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in October 2020.
Since then, DeWine has also sent almost 325 soldiers of the Ohio National Guard to Texas; with 125 of these guardsmen still stationed at the border today and still on active duty. In October 2023, a fresh rotation of 50 men from the Ohio National Guard will deploy to Texas.
The Ohio governor said that what happens at the southern border of the United States impacts Ohio.
“I can tell you that the vast majority, almost all the drugs that are coming into the state of Ohio come across the southern border. So we have a real interest in securing the southern border,” DeWine said.
With the lifting of Title 42 placing a strain on Texas’ local resources and law enforcement capabilities, by authorizing this Ohio State Highway Patrol deployment, Governor DeWine has demonstrated Ohio’s dedication to its commitment to working with other states as a constructive partner in addressing the immigration crisis.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Mike DeWine” by Governor Mike DeWine. Background Photo “Border Wall” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
