I was recently at the edge of “the Land of the Free” – the Southern border.
I’ve been to the border before, but this was my first time seeing it from the air. After taking an aerial tour, it became clearer to me than ever before that what we are witnessing at the border is a warzone. President Biden has failed to keep the United States of America secure.
This Southern border is a warzone – so I’m sending soldiers.
This is a war for our country. It’s a war for our federal laws and for our Constitution. Our sovereignty is being threatened by what’s happening at the Southern border every single day. Over 22,000 pounds of fentanyl has been captured by border patrol officers this year alone – enough to kill nearly 5 billion people. 32 pounds of fentanyl has been seized by South Dakota law enforcement officers in the last year – and while that might not seem like a lot, it is enough to kill 7.2 million people.
As a result of Biden’s refusal to take action, every state has become a border state. This crisis is impacting us here in South Dakota. This deteriorating situation has required Republican governors to do all we can to secure the border.
Two years ago, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for help securing the Southern border, I was the first governor to send National Guard troops. Our Lakota helicopters have also been at the border on a surveillance mission. And now, I’m sending more National Guard soldiers down to the border to keep the United States of America secure.
Our South Dakota National Guard is the best this nation has to offer. They have won multiple awards for their readiness, and they have shown me time and time again that I can trust them with any mission.
The Biden Administration should be sending help to Texas, but they continue to ignore federal law. Often, Mexican drug cartels use tribal reservations, like those in South Dakota, as a launchpad to facilitate the spread of their evil throughout the country. I have no jurisdiction on their reservations, and the Biden Administration is not enforcing federal law or supporting tribal law enforcement. The cartels know that the federal government won’t stop them.
The Biden Administration is destroying our tribal reservations, facilitating trafficking of kids, and tearing our communities apart with drugs. President Biden’s policies are inhumane – so Republican governors are stepping up.
While I was at the Southern border, I met with Customs and Border Patrol and attended an Operation Lone Star Briefing. The main things that these border patrol officers need are flexibility and resources. They need to be able to do their job, and they need the proper resources to do it well.
We don’t need new laws; we just need President Biden to respect the laws that we already have. The Remain in Mexico policy must be reinstated. The border wall must be completed. We can’t allow Americans’ security to remain at risk while Biden does nothing.
The South Dakota National Guard is going to the Southern border to fight for our country. There is no one that I trust more to help end this warzone and secure our nation than these brave men and women. I thank them for answering the call to serve and for fighting for Freedom.
