Arizona Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly are both supporting Governor, Doug Ducey’s decision to deploy the National Guard to the US southern border in Arizona to assist with the tidal wave of migrants overwhelming local authorities, reports Fox News.
"There is a crisis on the border, and I have pushed the administration for the additional resources, staffing, transportation, and the testing necessary to provide a secure, orderly process that does not fall on Arizona communities," Kelly said.
"I welcome the Governor's action to provide logistical support to Arizona communities, and look forward to hearing more details about how the National Guard will assist," Sinema said in a statement. "I will continue working closely with Arizona leaders and organizations to support our border communities, secure the border, prevent the spread of COVID-19, and treat all migrants and unaccompanied children fairly and humanely."
The surge includes over 172,000 migrants at the border. Included in that count is a record number of unaccompanied children, overwhelming authorities and requiring that new facilities be opened by the Biden administration to accommodate the numbers, according to Fox News.
"In visiting the Yuma Sector and speaking with Border Patrol and other local leaders, it’s clear that their resources and staffing are strained," Kelly added. "There are important missions that the Arizona National Guard can perform at the border and the governor calling them up will provide assistance to both local law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security."
The Guard will help by collecting data, analyzing imagery for tendencies in border crossings, installing and maintaining border cameras, and helping with overall detention centers operations, Ducey's office said, according to the Hill.
The Governor was also critical of what he described as "inaction" by the White House and a lack of planning — and said it forced Arizona to have to act by itself, after Arizona mayors and local law enforcement reached out for the Governor’s help. "[I]t doesn’t look like this administration is going to act any time soon, and we’re not going to sit around and wait any longer," Ducey said, according to Fox News.
"It’s just as bad, if not worse, than the coverage we've been seeing," Ducey said. “The U.S. Border Patrol is overwhelmed, local law enforcement and mayors are calling out for help,” he said in a recorded statement. “Citizens in our border communities are concerned for their safety and non-profits left to pick up the pieces of broken federal policies are strained."
He continued, "I said last month that the Biden administration is totally divorced from reality. Now, at times it seems like they fully understand the reality and they’re putting their heads in the sand and trying to ignore it anyway," reports the Hill.
On Tuesday he was aware of the White House’s characterization of the border situation as a “crisis” only to later to learn that the White House backpedaled by later claiming President Biden’s remarks concerned what is going on in Central America, not the US southern border.
Gov. Ducey declared a state of emergency Tuesday and has ordered 250 National Guard troops to the southern border to assist local law enforcement, that comes after Ducey had indicated for weeks that he was considering deploying the Guard and had requested federal reimbursement to do so, according to Fox News.
The Senators join the Arizona governor in seeking reimbursement from the Federal Government.
"We know the National Guard can provide important assistance on the border and note that there are approximately 500 Guardsmen already deployed to the Yuma and Tucson sectors," the Senators wrote in a letter. "As such, we request you reimburse the state of Arizona for the deployment the Governor announced yesterday to support border security and continue to increase DHS personnel who can further assist with the processing of migrants, securing the border, and executing important security missions," reported Fox News.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.