2024-02-01 01:58:02
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Wednesday that her administration is considering bolstering its support for Texas’ efforts to deter immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, such as sending barbed wire. and security personnel.
The Republican state leader lashed out at conditions at the border during a speech to a joint session of the Legislature, a meeting she requested Monday after her visit to the border last week. Noem, who was once considered a possible 2024 presidential candidate, has embraced the situation at the border as a central part of her management.
“The United States of America is in a moment of invasion,” Noem declared. “The invasion comes through our southern border. The 50 states have a common enemy, and that enemy is the Mexican drug cartels. “They are fighting a war against our country, and these cartels are perpetuating violence in every one of our states, including here in South Dakota.”
Border security has come to the fore in several states and in Congress, where Republicans are conditioning aid to Ukraine on a border security agreement, and seeking to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Even President Joe Biden has stated that, as part of a deal, he would close the border if given emergency authority to do so.
Noem mentioned that illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, and violent crimes affect communities and tribal reservations. He added that he plans to provide “very public” support to the Oglala Sioux Tribe in the lawsuit it filed last week against the federal government seeking greater security support.
Tribal Chairman Frank Star Comes Out declared a state of emergency on the Pine Ridge Reservation in November due to an increase in the crime rate. A federal judge determined last year that the federal government is bound by treaties to provide law enforcement support to the reservation, but declined to rule on the level of funding the tribe was requesting.
The governor also noted that South Dakota is willing to send barbed wire to Texas. Her administration is “looking at several legal options for how we can support Texas and force the federal government to do its job,” she said. She is also weighing options for making staff available.
Democratic state Sen. Shawn Bordeaux said Noem “should focus on South Dakota.”
“I think it’s a shame that he is using the border with Mexico for his own political purposes to try to push his own agenda and align it with that of former President Trump, and he does it at the expense of the tribes,” he added.
He stated that Noem had not paid much attention to the area’s tribes during her 10 years as a state legislator and her two years as a Rosebud Sioux tribal councilwoman.
“It disturbs me a little that we haven’t heard anything until now and suddenly it’s something so important in the middle of our session that he interrupts us with whatever he’s planning to get a little more attention, from my perspective,” he said. Bordeaux.
Republican House Majority Leader Will Mortenson said Noem “painted a pretty clear picture of the situation at the border and made a compelling argument, and the need for action at the border.” Lawmakers will look for specific proposals he can present during the current session, he added.
Noem has sent members of the South Dakota National Guard to the border three times, including once last year, and has visited the region repeatedly, including on Friday. Other Republican governors have also sent soldiers and visited the border.
Noem came under fire in 2021 for accepting a $1 million donation from a wealthy Republican donor to help cover the costs of a two-month deployment of 48 soldiers to the US-Mexico border in Texas.
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