Nebraska's Republican Gov. Jim Pillen is sending more than 60 Nebraska Army National Guard troops to the Texas border to support fellow GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star to help with the illegal migrant crisis.
"This mission is critical to the security of Nebraska as well as other states," Gov. Pillen said in a press release Monday announcing the move. "We need to maintain the safety of our citizenry and stem the ongoing influx of illegal drugs, weapons and criminals into our borders."
According to the state, the troops will deploy tomorrow and return to Nebraska "in early September," and are tasked with providing "additional observation and reporting near the border" to assist agencies conducting security and law enforcement activities.
"This mission is critical to the security of Nebraska as well as other states," Gov. Pillen said. "We need to maintain the safety of our citizenry and stem the ongoing influx of illegal drugs, weapons and criminals into our borders."
Pillen said Abbott briefed him and other Republican governors on the situation at the border and updated them on what his Operation Lone Star is accomplishing, including almost 400,000 apprehensions, more than 31,000 criminal arrests resulting in more than 29,000 felony charges, and the seizure of 422 million doses of the deadly drug fentanyl.
"President [Joe] Biden's border policies have been ineffective, requiring that states join together to help manage this issue," Gov. Pillen said. "Failure to do so only opens the door to threats that we can't fully recognize yet."
Pillen said in the release that the deployment is the result of a request from emergency management officials in Texas, and that federal money will cover the deployment costs through the Nebraska National Guard.
"The Nebraska National Guard is always ready to respond when our fellow Americans are in need of assistance, whether the emergency is here within our state, within our nation's borders or overseas," Nebraska Guard Adjutant Gen. Craig W. Strong said in the release. "I am confident that our men and women will make a positive impact serving in support of Operation Lone Star."
Abbott launched the state program in March 2021 to respond to the illegal migrant crisis at the border filling the "dangerous gaps created by the Biden administration's refusal to secure the border," according to the program's website.
"In addition to [razor wire], we now have buoys in the water to prevent people from even crossing the middle part of the Rio Grande River and coming into the state of Texas," Abbott said on the site. "Because Texas has done such a prolific job of stopping people from coming into our state, you are seeing a massive increase in the number of people crossing into New Mexico, Arizona, and California."
