Governor Stitt deploys Oklahoma National Guard to Texas border

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

In June, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt make a commitment to Texas Governor Greg Abbott that he would send national guardsmen to help with the Biden border crisis. Governor Abbott asked for help from other governors and Stitt was one who answered the call.

Advertisement

At the time, Stitt said in a press release:

“As Governor, the decision to deploy members of the National Guard is not one I take lightly and, as the parent of a deployed soldier, I am acutely aware of the sacrifices made by the brave men and women of our National Guard and their families during deployment. However, I believe it is in the best interest of Oklahoma and the nation to take decisive action to address the federal government’s utter failure to secure our southern border,” said Governor Stitt. “Republican governors continue to step up to the plate when President Biden refuses to lead; and by deploying our brave National Guard Troops, we’re sending a strong message that we remain dedicated to defending our borders and upholding law and order in our nation.”

Stitt made good on that commitment when he deployed 50 National Guardsmen to Texas. A new report states that the troops have been deployed to El Paso.

Along a 1-mile stretch in El Paso, Oklahomans are keeping close watch. There were numerous groups of people, including young children, on the Mexican side of the border, who were waving and shouting to the U.S. side. They were eventually chased off by Mexico officials.

“We’ll walk up and down,” said Oklahoma National Guard Specialist Trace Greer from Ardmore, Okla. ” We’ll patrol a little bit and we just call up if anything suspicious looks like it’s going on. If anybody looks like they’re about to cross, we’ll call that up, get some help down here.”

One of the things Oklahoma National Guard members are doing is looking out for migrants attempting to cross over the border. They’re also watching out for anyone trying to bring in narcotics.

Advertisement

Greer is one who volunteered for the deployment. He wanted to help out. He’s helping out by watching for illegal immigrants crossing the border.

Another guardsman said he finds it tough to see human beings crossing in 100-degree weather.

“I have seen families try to cross with young babies,” said Oklahoma National Guard Sergeant Ledesma. “As a human being, it is a little tougher to see that because nobody would stand out in over 100-degree weather all day if they weren’t in need of something.”

“As a human being, I feel for those people,” Ledesma said. “It is a difficult time to tell them that they need to go and try to cross the right way, but on the other hand, I’m here to do a job and that’s what I have to do.”

Open borders proponents call the guardsmen deployed along the border “political pawns.” It’s the same language that comes from the White House.

“I think every Texan should be up in arms that we’re doing this,” said David Stout with the Texas Border Coalition. “And every Oklahoman should be up in arms because they’re wasting y’all’s taxpayer dollars as well by playing this political game and sending these troops down here.”

Stout said El Paso is one of the safest cities in the U.S., calling the border an opportunity, not a threat.

“Just like migrants, these poor troops are being used as political pawns,” he said.

Advertisement

They are expected to be deployed about a month.

The leftists call this politics but it is national security and it is dealing with a humanitarian crisis at the border. Biden has intentionally created his crisis, something that past presidents did not do. Bush, Obama, and Trump all dealt with border security with policies and actions. Obama was so stringent at one point that he became known as the Deporter-in-Chief. We know Democrats clutched their pearls and took part in photo ops at the border with tears in their eyes about how mean the Orange Man was to illegal aliens. It is the duty of the president to secure the borders and protect the homeland. Even Obama understood that.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
David Strom 10:00 AM | November 01, 2024
Advertisement