In response to record-high border crossings and unauthorized entry into the country, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) reportedly approved the deployment of 100 Tennessee National Guard soldiers on Thursday.
In assisting Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has urged the Biden administration to take tougher action to curb the influx of individuals entering the US from Mexico, Lee joins other Republican governors including Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“America continues to face an unprecedented border crisis that threatens our nation’s security and the safety of Tennesseans. The federal government owes Americans a plan to secure our country, and in the meantime, states continue to answer this important call to service. I am again authorizing the Tennessee National Guard to help secure the Southern border, and I commend these troops for providing critical support.” Lee said in a statement.
In support of Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star,” the Tennessee troops will assist with border patrol, barrier construction, road clearing, and outpost activities, according to the governor’s office.
Lee also ordered around 50 troops to the border in December 2021, so Tennesseans have been deployed to the border before.
President Joe Biden’s administration saw a record number of border crossings in the days before Title 42, a Trump-era provision that permitted Border Patrol to turn away migrants due to COVID concerns, expired.
Illegal border crossings have continued to be a problem under President Biden. The week after Title 42 expired, the Border Patrol estimates that 83,000 migrants crossed the border.
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