Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey asks Homeland Security for money to dispatch National Guard to US-Mexico border

PHOENIX – Gov. Doug Ducey wants to dispatch National Guard troops in response to the migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border, he said Friday — and he wants the federal government to pick up the tab.

"Our sheriffs need help. Our mayors need help. Border patrol needs help," the Republican leader said on Twitter, capping off more than a week of blistering criticism of President Joe Biden's immigration policies.

"In Arizona, we’ve previously deployed the National Guard to the border to support law enforcement. I’ve requested federal reimbursement for deployment, so we can do it again and get this crisis under control."

A Governor's Office spokesman said Ducey had a "productive" conversation with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas but did not offer details regarding when and where troops may be deployed.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to comment on the meeting and referred questions to the governor's office.

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Border county sheriffs contacted by The Arizona Republic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But last week, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels had asked for reinforcements on behalf of the Arizona Sheriffs Association to help "address the public safety, humanitarian, and public health crisis we face."

"(Criminal organizations) are exploiting the migrant crisis," Dannels wrote in an open letter. "They know that increased migrant traffic, especially children, overwhelms resources and essentially gives them the unfettered ability to traffic drugs into the U.S."

Other southern Arizona leaders bristled at the governor's announcement, dismissing it as political posturing meant to score points with the GOP and distract from Ducey's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democratic. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, whose district includes portions of Arizona's border, said deploying troops would be "a waste of people's time" and money.

"They're in the rear position. They cannot enforce law," he said of the troops. "And the supplemental support they are providing to the Department of Homeland Security, I don't think that it is an essential support."

Grijalva urged Ducey to instead prioritize funding for local governments and nonprofit groups that have been providing assistance to asylum seekers near the border. Overwhelmed Border Patrol agents have been releasing migrants in Yuma, Ajo and Gila Bend, often in small, rural communities that lack the infrastructure to house or transport them.

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Vicki Gaubeca, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, called Ducey's federal funding request "hypocritical," citing his recent decision to reject a new Federal Emergency Management Agency vaccination site in southern Arizona.

The state ultimately allowed the plan for the site, which will primarily serve communities of color, to proceed in response to public pressure.

"It just shows where his priorities are, right?" said Gaubeca, whose coalition includes 60 migrant and community groups along the U.S.-Mexico border. "He's not caring for the Black and Latino communities."

Rather than increasing the militarization of the borderlands, she called for the creation of a more humane and orderly process to welcome migrants seeking help.

Governor has made dissatisfaction with border response known

Ducey contends the Biden administration is the "inhumane" party, because it has incentivized migrants to risk dangerous border crossings and failed to provide adequate detention facilities after they arrive.

Though apprehensions at the southern border began climbing last spring under former President Donald Trump, they spiked further after Biden reversed many of Trump's more aggressive immigration policies.

Last Friday, flanked by other GOP officials and a handful of law enforcement agents at the border wall in Douglas, Ducey blasted the president as "totally divorced from the reality on the ground."

"I've been governor under three presidents, and this is by far the worst situation we've seen," he said. "Washington has never been more out of touch, and it starts at the top."

The governor persisted Wednesday, calling Vice President Kamala Harris "the worst possible choice" to lead efforts to curb migration at the southern border hours after Biden tapped her for the post. He said the president had "completely trivialized the issue by putting someone in charge who flat out just doesn't care."

By Friday, Ducey's tone seemed to have softened slightly, with the governor indicating Arizona stood "ready to partner with the federal government to strengthen our borders and improve our immigration system."

"We need to resolve the issues at the border before they get even worse," he said. "… We have a real opportunity to partner to ensure additional boots on the ground are available to manage this crisis."

Arizona last sent National Guard members to the border in 2018, in response to an order from then-President Trump. Earlier this month, Texas' Republican governor deployed 500 troops to address the recent surge.

Follow Maria Polletta on Twitter @mpolletta and Rafael Carranza @rafaelcarranza.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Dov. Ducey asks for money to dispatch National Guard to border