In the face of scrutiny from state Democrats and in a departure from several governors throughout the country, Gov. Scott Walker announced Tuesday he will be sending roughly two dozen Wisconsin National Guard troops to the country’s southern border.
Walker’s announcement comes in the wake of intense backlash from both Republicans and Democrats to President Donald Trump’s policy of separating immigrant families as they attempt to cross the southern border.
Since Trump ramped up operations to combat illegal immigration early last year, many states have sent National Guard troops to assist in the effort. But after it was revealed earlier this year that families were being separated at the southern border, and in light of intense backlash the policy has faced from advocacy groups and elected officials across the political spectrum, many governors announced they would be withholding or withdrawing their National Guard troops from the southern border until the policy’s enforcement ended.
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As of Tuesday, the governors of New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Rhode Island, Delaware, Colorado and New Hampshire — a mixture of both Democrats and Republicans — all said they would be withdrawing or withholding their state’s delegation of National Guard troops while the policy of separating families at the border continues.
Walker, however, will not be joining those governors. In an announcement Tuesday, Walker said he would be sending roughly two dozen Wisconsin National Guard troops to the southern border.
In defense of his decision, Walker said the decision is largely out of his hands because the troops receive federal funding. Operating at the state level, Walker said he must send troops if other states request them.
Walker also refused to comment on or discuss his personal thoughts about Trump’s family separation policy — a policy which the Democratic Party of Wisconsin called “cruel and inhumane” in a statement Tuesday.
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Wisconsin’s troops will be assisting Arizona in operations at the southern border. In a statement Tuesday from the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs, major general Don Dunbar said he was ready to assist the Arizona National Guard.
“As the nation’s first military responder in times of emergency, assisting civil authorities and partner agencies is one of the National Guard’s core missions,” Dunbar said. “The soldiers and airmen in the Wisconsin National Guard are a well-trained, professional force ready to answer the president’s call to assist Arizona and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.”
But state Democrats lambasted Walker for his decision, with many focusing on the Trump Administration policy of separating immigrant families.
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In his criticism of Trump, TJ Helmstetter, a Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman, pointed to the bipartisan group of governors throughout the country who have refused to send their state’s National Guard troops.
“Other governors from both parties have pulled their National Guard units, but Governor Walker refuses to help stand against the cruel and inhumane practice of separating children from their parents,” Helmstetter said. “His office’s response to concerned Wisconsin parents pleading with him to help was a non-response. Governor Walker owes Wisconsin a real response and real action.”
Walker, who faces reelection this year, also received criticism from the 10 Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for the governorship this August.
