LOCAL

Governor withdraws most National Guard from border

Staff and wire reports
Recently inaugurated New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Democrat, toured federal border facilities in Sunland Park and Santa Teresa on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, holding a news conference afterward at the New Mexico Border Authority. Lujan Grisham says she doesn't have enough data yet to determine whether to keep in place or end the deployment of about 120 members of the National Guard assigned to the state's southern border to assist federal border agents. Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, left, also participated in the tour.

SANTA FE - New Mexico's governor, arguing there is not an "overwhelming national security crisis," withdrew the majority of National Guard troops deployed at the state's southern border.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday, Feb. 5, also announced she would be sending more help to Hidalgo County — one of the state's three border counties — to assist with humanitarian needs.

"I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the southern border, along which are some of the safest communities in the country," the Democrat governor stated in a news release sent hours before President Donald Trump's scheduled State of the Union. "However, I recognize and appreciate the legitimate concerns of residents and officials in southwestern New Mexico, particularly Hidalgo County, who have asked for our assistance, as migrants and asylum-seekers continue to appear at their doorstep."

More:Residents of Hachita, in southwest New Mexico, vexed by surge of migrants

Former Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, sent 200 National Guard troops to the border in April 2018 at the request of President Trump. At that time, Martinez told the Sun-News that troops deployed for the border security mission are acting as a support system for the Border Patrol, allowing for more "boots on the ground" by agents. 

Of the original 200 National Guard troops, a total of 118 remained before Lujan Grisham's announcement.

A small contingent — around a dozen guardsmen — will remain in the southwestern corner of the state to assist with humanitarian needs and to asses whether an "augmented presence" in that part of the state is needed.

In recent months, multiple groups of 100-plus migrants have been entering the United States at the remote Antelope Wells Port of Entry, in Hidalgo County. The large groups of families, women and children crossing the border have stressed border agents and medical facilities in the area.

More:Southern New Mexico medical facilities strained to meet the needs of migrants

The governor also directed the Department of Public Safety to temporarily deploy an group of six New Mexico State Police officers to assist the day-to-day operations of local law enforcement in Hidalgo County. Lujan Grisham said the directive comes at the request of Hidalgo County Manager Tisha Green.

Green sent a letter to state and federal lawmakers, dated Dec. 26, 2018, asking for medical, law enforcement and sanitation resources.

"Our citizens who live in Hidalgo County near the border, more specifically in Antelope Wells, are not safe any longer," the letter stated. "They encounter up to 30 or more immigrants daily in their own yards." 

Green later told the Sun-News that Hidalgo County has only four certified sheriff’s deputies, and a limited budget, and said the county was going to request funding to be able to hire more officers.

Lt. Gov. Howie Morales meets with Border Patrol agents Friday during a trip to Lordsburg. Morales is gathering information for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is deciding whether to keep National Guard troops at the border.

Lujan Grisham, who was sworn into office Jan. 1, visited Santa Teresa — a border community in Doña Ana County — and surrounding facilities on Jan. 11. A week later, Lt. Gov. Howie Morales toured border stations in the southwestern parts of the state.

The trips were in part to assess the viability of National Guard troops on the border.

In the news release sent Tuesday, Lujan Grisham reiterated she didn't think there was a crisis at the border. 

“... New Mexico will not take part in the president's charade of border fear-mongering by misusing our diligent National Guard troops," she stated. "We will deploy our men and women in uniform only where there is a need, and where their presence can make a genuine difference in ensuring public safety and an easing of the humanitarian concerns at our southern border."

Also Tuesday, Lujan Grisham directed 25 troops from other states — Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Wisconsin — to withdraw from the New Mexico border.

Last week, the Border Patrol announced it had apprehended four drug trafficking suspects with the help of Arkansas National Guard air surveillance in the state's Bootheel. The men allegedly were hauling 136 pounds of marijuana near Playas, New Mexico.

New Mexico's contingent of border troops is dwarfed by recent federal deployments of active duty troops.

The Pentagon announced Sunday it would send 3,750 more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to put up barbed wire and provide support for Customs and Border Protection, increasing the total number to 4,350.

Editor's note: This story was updated Wednesday with information from The Associated Press.

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