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New Mexico governor withdraws National Guard from the border, slams Trump's 'charade'
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ne ... d_nn_tw_ma
By Daniella Silva
The governor of New Mexico ordered the state’s National Guard to withdraw a majority of its troops from the southern border, slamming what she called President Donald Trump’s “charade” shortly before the State of the Union address Tuesday.
“New Mexico will not take part in the president’s charade of border fear-mongering by misusing our diligent National Guard troops,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
Lujan Grisham, who was elected as the first Latina Democratic governor of the state in the 2018 midterm election, said she rejected the “federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the southern border.”
She also ordered troops from outside of the state, including Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Wisconsin, to return to their home states.
While Lujan Grisham ordered the withdrawal of many of the troops, she also directed troops in Hidalgo County and the surrounding southwestern areas to remain in place. Those troops will continue to "assist with the ongoing humanitarian needs of communities there, who have seen large groups of families, women and children crossing over the border in the remote Antelope Wells area in recent months," she said.
“I recognize and appreciate the legitimate concerns of residents and officials in southwestern New Mexico, particularly Hidalgo County, who have asked for our assistance, as migrants and asylum-seekers continue to appear at their doorstep,” she said.
That small group consists of around a dozen guardsmen, according to The Associated Press.
The area has seen a recent influx of large numbers of Mexican families, including a group of 306 migrants on Jan. 25.
Lujan Grisham also directed the state’s Department of Public Safety to deploy temporarily a group of six New Mexico State Police officers to assist local law enforcement in Hidalgo County.
The governor’s announcement challenged Trump’s ongoing claim that there is a “crisis" at the U.S.-Mexico border. During Tuesday’s State of the Union speech, Trump repeated the claim and doubled down on his pledge to build a wall along the southern border, warning of a "tremendous onslaught" of migrants.
"This is a moral issue," Trump said. "The lawless state of our Southern border is a threat to the safety, security and financial well-being of all Americans."