Democratic governors in California and New Mexico are starting to cut back on the number of National Guard troops stationed at the border after deciding they don’t agree with President Trump that the border is in a state of emergency.
And in Arizona, troops from Wisconsin are being pulled because the new Democratic governor from the Badger State also disagrees with Trump’s policy.
Nearly a year after Trump authorized the push to get guardsmen at the border, more than 2,100 are still deployed. But that number has already started to fall, and will continue to drop in the coming weeks as blue states pull out from the mission, according to Pentagon officials.
New Mexico’s troops have been hit the hardest of the four border states. Just 18 guardsmen remain deployed there, down from the 200 former Republican Gov. Susan Martinez sent to the southern border last April. That number had dwindled down to 118 until earlier this month when Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham cut it nearly 90 percent to its current figure.
The governor, who took office last month, said she chose to send home the majority of troops from Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Wisconsin because she did not agree the border was in an emergency and needed the military’s assistance.
In California, 350 troops are still serving, but that number is expected to shrink by mid-March following Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order for most to return home. A National Guard spokesperson said to expect a decrease in the coming weeks that takes their numbers down to just 100 at the border.
Arizona has 600 guardsmen serving from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
But Gov. Tony Evers, D-Wis., announced this week that around 120 troops of the state’s forces in Arizona will be called back from their border mission. Similar to Lujan Grisham’s reasoning, Evers said he does not believe the border is facing a crisis.
Texas is the state with the largest shared border with Mexico, and has the most guardsmen in place, 1,200. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott isn’t showing any signs of reducing that number. The troops in Texas are from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The guard’s deployment is part of Operation Guardian Support, which was put into effect last April. Trump ordered military assistance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection after a caravan of more than 1,000 people was reported to be on its way to the U.S. from Central America.
The mission was renewed through Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2019. The number of guardsmen at the border could double to its cap of 4,000, though it would likely come from additional troops in red states due to Democrats’ overwhelming opposition to the operation.
Previous administrations, including the George W. Bush and Barack Obama White Houses, have ordered the National Guard to the southern border to improve border security.
Guardsmen help with nonlaw enforcement tasks, including manning cameras and sensors, flying helicopters and aircraft, repairing vehicles, enhancing barriers, and other tasks.
