South Dakota governor sending more troops to US-Mexico border

South Dakota will be sending an additional 125 members of its National Guard to the border between the U.S. and Mexico to assist federal immigration authorities, its governor announced. 

Gov. Kristi Noem (R) said the deployment will add to the 50 troops she announced late last month were being sent to the southwest border. 

The first deployment will reportedly be funded by a Tennessee billionaire, and the second will be paid for by the federal government. 

“Our South Dakota National Guard is the very best in the country, and they are prepared for the sustained response the national security crisis at our southern border requires,” Noem said. “I am hopeful that this mission indicates the Biden Administration is waking up to the devastating situation at the border.”

Noem is seen as a potential 2024 presidential contender and is a loyalist to former President Trump. 

“The border is a national security crisis that requires the kind of sustained response only the National Guard can provide,” she said when the first deployment of South Dakota National Guard members was announced. “We should not be making our own communities less safe by sending our police or Highway Patrol to fix a long-term problem President Biden’s Administration seems unable or unwilling to solve.”

Republicans are seeking to highlight the growing trend of immigrants flowing into the country in recent months as a wedge issue ahead of next year’s midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race.

–Updated at 12:51 p.m.