By Gov. Kristi Noem is sending South Dakota National Guard troops to the southern border later this spring.
The governor’s office Tuesday morning announced what will be the fifth deployment of South Dakota troops to the U.S.-Mexico border during her administration to assist in border security efforts.
Noem
“The border is a warzone, so we’re sending soldiers,” the Republican governor said in a news release. “These soldiers’ primary mission will be construction of a wall to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, drug cartels and human trafficking into the United States of America.”
MORE: Mexican drug cartels operating in South Dakota, Noem claims
The deployment of 60 South Dakota Guard troops comes after Greg Abbott, Republican governor of Texas, requested help from other states in responding to continued illegal crossings by migrants into the U.S.
The South Dakota troops will not all be sent at once, according to the governor’s office. Rather, they’ll be deployed on a “rolling basis” over a three-month period, though specifics on dates and number of troops working in Texas at any given time “may not be answerable due to security considerations,” per the governor’s office.
The deployment comes amid an ongoing dispute between Texas and the federal government over border security protocol. Earlier this year, Texas lost a lawsuit seeking to stop U.S. Customs and Border Patrol from removing barbed wire fencing the state had strung along portions of its border with Mexico.