Holcomb joins 25 other governors for Border Strike Force
(The Center Square) – Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, along with 25 other governors, signed to participate in a Border Strike Force to, according to the governors, take action to secure the southern border.
The strike force was announced by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, saying in a press release its purpose is “to do what the federal government won’t: secure the southern border.”
The force is modeled after the Arizona Border Strike Force, started by Ducey in 2015, which has seized close to 1,000 pounds of fentanyl in the last five years.
The announcement comes as the Biden administration considers lifting Title 42, a pandemic-era rule that allowed border patrol agents to prohibit entry into the Unites States of those who may pose a health risk.
When asked what it entails, Holcomb’s press secretary, Erin Murphy, only referred to the memorandum of understanding, which was posted to the website of other governors who’d signed on, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
That memorandum of understanding says the purpose of the agreement is “to provide for cooperative effort and mutual assistance in the prevention of crime and in the enforcement of the party states’ respective criminal laws and policies related to drug trafficking, human trafficking, transnational criminal organizations and other border-related crimes.”
It also says the agreement will set up cooperation in conducting joint training exercises among the 26 states.
Under the agreement, each state is to designate one state official – a top law enforcement executive or head of the state police agency – to formulate a plan and procedures for assisting other states with securing the border.
The plan is to include reviewing state crime statistics to determine which crimes can be traced to the southern border and assist in sharing crime data between state “fusion centers.” The states also agree to review all state statutes on human trafficking, drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations “to ensure that such crimes are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The agreement was signed April 19 by Holcomb and the governors of Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Last September, Holcomb was one of 18 governors to sign a letter to President Biden, asking for a meeting within 15 days “to bring an end to the national security crisis created by eight months of unenforced borders.”
In the letter, the governors complained of a 500% increase in the number of people apprehended at the border compared to the year before – totally 1.3 million, “more than the populations of nine states.”
When they received no reply from the Biden administration, Ducey, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and eight other governors met in Texas for a border security briefing, where they asked the Biden administration to do 10 things to resolve the border crisis, including continuing Title 42, ending “catch and release,” resuming construction of the border wall and resuming the deportation of criminal illegal aliens. Holcomb did not attend this briefing.
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