Gov. Doug Ducey went to Nogales Friday to be there as the initial National Guard troops arrived for Operation Guardian Shield.
Ducey with Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodolfo Karisch of the U.S. Border Patrol talked about Operation Guardian Shield.
The Governor said, “The national guard decision is a reaction to reports that border problems have increased year on year, and in the past two months.”
The numbers show apprehensions in the Tucson sector of the Border Patrol have increased 200 percent.
According to the governor like in the past the deployment is not militarization of the border, because enforcement is still left to the border patrol not the troops, like previous deployments by presidents Bush and Obama
Sixty guardsmen will be assigned to assist Border Patrol at the Mariposa Port of Entry. The troops will be in a support role only and will not carry weapons.
Governor Ducey committed 338 troops in total from Arizona in response to President Donald Trump’s push to secure the border until the wall is built.
Not all of the troops will be on the border, some will be based out of Marana and will focus on aviation, while others will help with engineering, transportation, surveillance and communications.