Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced Monday the formation of the US Governors Border Strike Force, a new partnership between that state and Texas to combat undocumented immigration and drug trafficking.
“If the southern border is not secure, it is not our nation either,” Ducey said during his last government report as governor of Arizona, in which he made the official announcement.
This coalition will allow participating states to share information and the use of cyber technology such as drones, as well as build additional infrastructure and physical barriers at the border.
It also seeks to increase the use of federal resources for local communities that in its opinion have been “devastated” by the immigration policies of the Administration of US President Joe Biden.
At the moment, the task force is made up of only Arizona and Texas, but the Ducey hopes that other states can join soon.
“Texas Governor Greg Abbott and I are joining together to form the Governors’ Border Strike Force, a commitment between states to do what the Biden Administration is unwilling to do: patrol and secure our border.” Ducey said during his government report.
During fiscal year 2021, which ended last September, 2,633 pounds (1,194 kilograms) of fentanyl and 19,572 pounds (8,878 kilograms) of methamphetamine were seized on the Arizona-Mexico border.
Ducey assured that this union of resources will allow the fight against transnational organizations that continue to profit from the border crisis.
He indicated that in December he witnessed first-hand how people cross an “open and unprotected” border on foot without any problem.
The Republican governor promised to secure the border with a “physical barrier” where possible, protecting the state’s communities.
Last year, Texas began construction of a border wall funded with funds approved by the state legislature.
Ducey believes that it is also necessary to reform state laws to apply more severe penalties to human traffickers.
Both Arizona and Texas have been strong critics of the Biden Administration, claiming that their immigration policies have increased the flow of migrants to historic levels.
During fiscal year 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported the arrest of just over 1.7 million undocumented migrants along the border with Mexico.