Arizona’s Gov. Doug Ducey helps launch 26-state border strike force

PHOENIX – Republican governors in 26 states, including Arizona, launched a border security coalition on Tuesday that aims to provide “solutions to the failure of the federal government.”

“The American Governors’ Border Strike Force will serve as a force multiplier in the fight against criminal activity directly tied to our border,” Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said in a press release.

“My thanks to my fellow governors who saw the problem and chose to be part of the solution.”

The plan is modeled on Ducey’s Arizona Border Strike Force, a partnership created in 2015 among multiple law enforcement agencies in the state.

Today we are launching the American Governors’ Border Strike Force – a partnership among 26 governors to do what the federal government won’t: secure the southern border.

DETAILS: https://t.co/oT9EaiVyt9 1/ pic.twitter.com/ZmSL1iepZy

— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) April 19, 2022

“What we’re doing in Arizona works,” Ducey said. “But this is not just an Arizona issue, it’s a national issue. If our entire southern border isn’t secure, our nation isn’t secure.”

The new task force aims to improve collaboration across state lines to combat drug trafficking and human smuggling.

The initiative includes partner states sending intelligence analysts for assignments at the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center and sending law enforcement personnel for training in border states.

“By disrupting the criminal networks, we will help improve the humanitarian crisis by protecting victims of horrific crimes, improving public safety in our communities and providing solutions to the failure of the federal government,” the plan says.

In addition to Arizona, the states involved are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Despite what the Biden Admin would have you believe, criminals, drugs & human trafficking don’t just stay on the border. They make their way to every state.

MS is joining 25 other states to secure the border.

We’re all border states now & we’re going to protect ourselves. pic.twitter.com/xaw4fOy6ae

— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) April 19, 2022

Two of the four Southwest border states, New Mexico and California, are not involved. They have Democratic governors. Two states with Republican governors, Massachussets and Vermont, aren’t part of the coalition, either.

This isn’t Ducey’s first involvement in a multistate border security effort. In October 2021, he joined nine other Republican governors in southern Texas to outline a 10-point border security plan they wanted the Biden administration to implement.

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