Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is deploying Arkansas National Guard to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with immigration enforcement in Arkansas.
Sanders made the announcement Tuesday, according to a press releasefrom her office.
“Violent, criminal illegal immigrants have no place in Arkansas,” Sanders said. “I signed the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act to hold these criminals accountable and slap enhanced penalties on illegal immigrants who commit additional crimes while in our state, and I look forward to our guardsmen working with the Trump Administration to enforce federal immigration law. President Trump has secured our border and is cleaning up our streets, and Arkansas stands with him every step of the way.”
Sanders, a Republican, served as White House press secretary during Trump’s first administration. She will work with the Department of Homeland Security under federal Title 32 powers. Those powers enable guardsmen to remain under her control but be funded by Washington,” Fox News reported.
Sanders praised Trump his efforts to “clean up the streets” in major cities — even though Democratic municipal leaders are generally not on board.
“The Arkansas National Guard stands ready to support this mission by providing requested administrative and logistical assistance to the Department of Homeland Security,” Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges, Arkansas’ adjutant general, said, per the release. “Our Guardsmen are highly trained and committed to enabling federal agents to focus on their core operations.”
Forty guardsmen in Fort Smith, Little Rock and Fayetteville will be activated for this mission, the outlet reported.
“These operations will be fully funded by the federal government,” per the press release.
“Guardsmen will not be armed and will provide logistical support for detainee transport, operating or riding in a vehicle with an ICE agent who has custody of detained individuals,” the release added. “They will also help process detained individuals and perform clerical tasks to facilitate illegal immigrant detainment.”
The governor also increased the state’s ban on sanctuary cities to include areas of the state not directly governed by municipalities. This includes many rural communities.
