NE, IA Send Troops To US/Mexico Border

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen is sending more than 60 Nebraska National Guard soldiers to the Texas border with Mexico. The group of soldiers will leave for Texas tomorrow and be deployed as a part of Operation Lone Star until early September. Pillen says that the soldiers will help stem an influx of illegal drugs, weapons and criminals from crossing the border into the U.S. Meanwhile, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced sending a hundred Iowa National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in a federally funded operation. The move reflects a broader trend of Republican governors joining forces with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in disapproval of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, which they say have created a crisis at the border. The Biden administration sent 1,500 active-duty troops for a 90-day deployment in May amid concerns that the end of asylum restrictions linked to the pandemic would lead to an increase in illegal border crossings. An additional 2,300 National Guard troops are at the border under federal orders.