26 Republican governors ban together to fight Biden's border crisis

A coalition of 26 Republican governors led by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday that the newly created American Governors’ Border Strike Force would “take action” on border security "while the White House turns a blind eye."

“Due to President Biden’s disastrous border policies, dangerous transnational criminal organizations continue flooding our communities with drugs while reaping billions of dollars from human smuggling and causing a record-breaking number of apprehensions at the Southern Border,” the governors wrote in a statement.

“By partnering across state lines, governors can serve as a force multiplier to target cartels and criminal networks financially and operationally. Together, governors will improve public safety, protect victims from horrific crimes, reduce the amount of drugs in our communities, and alleviate the humanitarian crisis at the Southern Border,” they added.

The announcement came just one day after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data revealed that border crossings surged by approximately 33% over the previous month – reaching the highest level in two decades.

It also follows the administration’s announcement that the government is preparing to lift Title 42, a common-sense policy that has helped secure the border.

According to Gov. Ducey, the American Governors’ Border Strike Force is modeled after the Arizona Border Strike Force, an initiative which has seized 985 pounds of fentanyl, 13,100 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,704 pounds of cocaine and 801 pounds of heroin since its founding in 2015.

“What we’re doing in Arizona works, but this is not just an Arizona issue, it’s a national issue. If our entire southern border isn’t secure, our nation isn’t secure,” Ducey said in a statement. “As dangerous transnational criminal organizations continue to profit from holes in the border and fill our communities with drugs, it’s no coincidence that we’re seeing historic levels of opioid-related deaths.”

“The American Governors’ Border Strike Force will serve as a force multiplier in the fight against criminal activity directly tied to our border. My thanks to my fellow governors who saw the problem and chose to be part of the solution,” he added.

Similarly, Gov. Abbott called the formation of the GOP governors coalition “an indictment on the Biden administration and its failure to do its fundamental job of national security in securing our border.”

A recent report from Breitbart shows that the Border Strike Force will facilitate collaboration between states in order to:

Partner at the state fusion center level to disrupt and dismantle cartels:

• Share criminal justice information to improve investigations in the border region and nationwide, especially
  in communities adjacent to or crossing state boundaries.
• Coordinate and improve interdiction on interstates to combat drug trafficking and human smuggling.
• Co-locate intelligence analysts in border states to improve collaboration, real time response, intelligence
  sharing, and analysis connected to border security.
• Assist border states with supplemental staff and resources at state fusion centers, such as on rotation
  assignments, to share information obtained both on the border and in other states.
• Send law enforcement to train in border states to detect, track, and curb border-related crime.

Focus state law enforcement efforts to disrupt and dismantle cartels:

• Target cartel finances that fund criminal activity in the border regions to seize the tools used to assist the
  cartels.
• Monitor cybersecurity issues that may increase vulnerability along the Southern Border, such as criminal
  networks that operate on social media to recruit traffickers.
• Review state criminal statutes regarding human trafficking, drug trafficking, and transnational criminal
  organizations to ensure the laws deter, disrupt, and dismantle criminal activity.
• Review state criminal justice statistics and information to determine crimes that can be traced to the
  Southern Border.
• Develop interstate procedures to fill any identified gaps or identified inconsistencies in existing plans to
  address border crime.

The 26 Republican governors that joined the new border coalition are:

Governors Doug Ducey (AZ), Greg Abbott (TX), Kay Ivey (AL), Mike Dunleavy (AK), Asa Hutchinson (AR), Ron DeSantis (FL), Brian Kemp (GA), Brad Little (ID), Eric Holcomb (IN), Kim Reynolds (IA), Larry Hogan (MD), Tate Reeves (MS), Mike Parson (MO), Greg Gianforte (MT), Pete Ricketts (NE), Chris Sununu (NH), Doug Burgum (ND), Mike DeWine (OH), Kevin Stitt (OK), Henry McMaster (SC), Kristi Noem (SD), Bill Lee (TN), Spencer Cox (UT), Glenn Youngkin (VA), Jim Justice (WV), and Mark Gordon (WY).