Alaska's GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy is ready to shell out $1 million a month to send National Guard soldiers to the southern border to help Texas officials in their fight against illegal crossings.
"We'll test the waters with the Legislature to see if they're willing to fund that, and I wouldn't mind helping Texas with their issue on the border," Dunleavy said, the Alaska Beacon reported Thursday.
Dunleavy and Attorney General Treg Taylor have issued statements in support of Texas' position, the outlet noted — and Taylor and Adjutant General Torrence Saxe have conducted a series of closed-door briefings with legislators about planned and possible National Guard deployments to the U.S. border with Mexico.
The governor's remarks followed the announcement the federal National Guard bureau has asked the Alaska National Guard to prepare for the deployment of 20 soldiers and two helicopters to support Customs and Border Protection officials along the southern border, the outlet reported.
If Alaska National Guard soldiers were to deploy at Texas' request, it would be under Dunleavy's authority and Alaska would pay the bill, he said.
Dunleavy also pushed back on speculation over a possible armed conflict among soldiers deployed from individual states.
"There's some nonsense that by doing that, you're setting up a new Confederate army against the Union or that you're setting up a flashpoint between Americans," Dunleavy said, the outlet reported.
"That's not the case, and that's not something I would want. And I know Gov. Abbott. That's not what he wants."
Since 2021, Texas has conducted Operation Lone Star, a state-run effort to fortify the international border and prevent crossings between the usual U.S. ports of entry.
According to Newsweek, Dunleavy is among a contingent of 25 Republican governors who have supported Abbott in his efforts to secure the southern border.
Some 988,000 encounters were recorded by CBP between October and December 2023, with the number this week of crossings hitting 1 million, Newsweek reported.
And last weekend, governors from 13 states joined Abbott at the border to respond to what they believe is federal government inaction: Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Utah, Newsweek reported.
Dunleavy said Wednesday he wants to see more immigration, particularly to Alaska, the Alaska Beacon reported.
"I think we need more people. I think we need more immigrants. And I've always said, build a strong wall with many doors, many ways to get into this country," he said.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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