FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2023

Contact: Ian Fury

Governor Noem Announces National Guard Deployment to Southern Border

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she will be deploying at least 50 South Dakota National Guard troops to the southern border later this summer. Governor Noem joins a group of 12 other Republican governors who are answering the call from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to help Texas respond to the crisis at the southern border.

“The border crisis is growing worse under President Biden’s willful inaction. Across the country, crime rates, drug overdoses, and human trafficking have all skyrocketed because our border remains a warzone,” said Governor Noem. “Our National Guard soldiers are the best prepared to tackle this challenge. They have proven that they can serve with excellence in a situation such as this, and I am confident that they will do so again.”

Two years ago, Governor Noem was the first governor to deploy National Guard troops to the southern border at the request of the governors of Texas and Arizona.

Monthly border encounters have increased by 536% since President Biden took office. Average monthly encounters are up to 204,566 to-date in fiscal year 2023. Prior to the Biden Administration, recorded border encounters had only ever been higher than 200,000 in one month in history, which was 23 years ago.