Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday slammed the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis, saying the federal government has been absent.
“We’ve had no interaction with the president or the vice president,” Ducey told Fox News host Dana Perino. He did, however, note that his team has been in contact with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“… [it is] a crisis and an emergency that needs action from the federal government and they need to start responding to the border governors, to our requests,” the governor explained. “We need resources for the National Guard.”
According to Ducey, the Biden administration needs to change how they communicate with Mexico.
“The Biden administration has been anti-wall and AWOL. They’re absent without leave,” he said. “We need support on the southern border.”
The differences between the Biden administration and the Trump administration’s stance on the border is stark, the governor explained. He cited an interview ABC News’ Martha Raddatz conducted with illegal aliens as evidence. In that interview, the illegal immigrants said they made the trek to the United States because President Joe Biden took office.
“She asked them if they would take the same journey under the Trump administration and they said no,” he recalled. “It couldn’t be more clearer [sic] that the [Biden] administration is not properly communicating that the border is closed.”
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Border Patrol has apprehended over 170,000 illegal aliens, something Ducey said is a “border crisis and a humanitarian crisis.” Of those 170,000 in custody, 19,000 are unaccompanied minors.
Biden halted construction of the border wall when he ended Trump’s national emergency declaration. As soon as he was sworn into office, Biden signed an executive order placing a hold on deportations for the first 100 days of his administration. A judge ended up tossing out the deportation freeze when Texas challenged the decision.
Despite making these drastic changes that likely sparked the number of illegal aliens flocking to the United States, the Biden administration has failed to respond. That’s why announced he is deploying the Arizona National Guard to the border.
“The border is traditionally a federal issue and a federal focus. The Biden White House has ignored the situation at the border in Arizona and across the southern U.S,” Ducey said during a press conference on Thursday. “So we have options as a state of course. We are working with ranchers, border sheriffs, leaders at the county level. I plan to talk with the President on what their next steps will be. But the National Guard will be part of the solution. We will have action taken.”
The governor said regardless of how the federal government responds, “Arizona is going to act.”
Ducey plans to deploy the Arizona National Guard but wants the feds to reimburse the state. Even if the federal government decides not to foot the bill, Ducey said the state will, The Arizona Daily Star reported.