Texas and Arizona Governors Invoke ‘Emergency’; Compact, ‘Urgently Request’ Other States Send Border Reinforcements

The Republican governors of Texas and Arizona sent a letter Thursday to governors across the country asking for law enforcement resources to confront the growing crisis on the country’s southern border.

In the joint letter from Gov. Greg Abbott and Doug Ducey, they asked their peers across the country to send officers to the border to help them stem the illegal flow of guns, drugs and people.

“In response to the ongoing surge of illegal border crossings, with the accompanying threats to private property and to the safety of our citizens, Governor Abbott has declared a disaster and Governor Ducey has declared an emergency,” said the letter, which was described as an “urgent request” for reinforcements.

The two border-state governors blamed the crisis on the Biden administration.

“When it comes to the Biden Administration’s open-border disaster, our greatest need is for additional law enforcement personnel and equipment,” they wrote.

Abbott and Ducey said that under the emergency and disaster declarations and the governors’ compact, out-of-state officers have jurisdiction to arrest people streaming across the border illegally.

“With your help, we can apprehend more of these perpetrators of state and federal crimes before they can cause problems in your state,” the governors wrote.