Republican governors unveil ‘Border Strike Force’

More than two dozen Republican governors are launching a multistate initiative aimed at securing the southern border as recent figures from the Biden administration show a surge in border arrests last month.

The 26-state “American Governors Border Strike Force” is aimed at enhancing intelligence sharing, combating human smuggling and drug trafficking through improved interdiction between Interstates 10 and 40 and keeping an eye on cybersecurity issues, among other goals.

The multistate initiative is modeled after a similar one that Arizona created in 2015, which Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s (R) office said in a release seized 801 pounds of heroin and 985 pounds of fentanyl, among other drug seizures, since it started.

“What we’re doing in Arizona works,” Ducey said in a statement. “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 other states involved in the effort 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.

The development comes as the Biden administration recently reported that roughly 221,000 migrants were arrested at the southern border in the month of March — a record number in the last two decades.

Prior to the official figures being released, the Department of Homeland Security had outlined steps it was taking for an anticipated surge in border crossings. 

The development also comes as the Biden administration prepares to end Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed officials to rapidly turn migrants away at the border and stop them from seeking asylum as a means of preventing the spread of COVID-19, in May.