Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says state will offer migrants transportation to Washington

PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced several new border-related actions on Wednesday, including a plan to send some asylum seekers to Washington, D.C.

Migrants seeking asylum in Arizona will be given the option of being transported to the nation’s capital, with meals and onboard staffing and support provided, according to a press release.

Few details about the process were released, but the basics are similar to a policy started last month in Texas, where migrants are offered charter bus service to Washington.

Ducey also announced that the state Department of Emergency Management is sending additional National Guard personnel to help the Department of Public Safety combat human smuggling.

The guard will provide support to the Arizona Border Strike Force at the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center in Phoenix.

The Governor’s Office and the State Land Department are also working to provide security to farmers and other landowners across the southern border, according to the release.

The state is using the Border Security Fund, which was established by Ducey and the Arizona Legislature last year, to implement the new initiatives.

In addition, Ducey sent a letter Tuesday to the CEOs of the companies that run Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat asking the social media giants to do more to combat human trafficking and drug trafficking. The letter says cartels have been luring young people into criminal activities through ads on the platforms.

“Human trafficking and drug trafficking is rampant — with cartels preying on those seeking refuge for a better life, and facilitating the flow of drugs into American communities,” Ducey wrote. “And ⁠— these criminals are using your companies’ social media platforms to make it happen.”

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