New Mexico’s governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has apparently had enough of President Donald Trump’s fear-mongering over his proposed border wall. Tuesday, just before the president’s State of The Union address, she ordered the removal of National Guard troops from the state’s southern border and refuted Trump’s claim that illegal immigration is causing a crisis in the U.S., CNN reports.
“I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the southern border, along which are some of the safest communities in the country,” the newly-elected governor said in a statement about her decision.
She added, “New Mexico will not take part in the president’s charade of border fear-mongering by misusing our diligent National Guard troops.”
“We will deploy our men and women in uniform only where there is a need, and where their presence can make a genuine difference in ensuring public safety and an easing of the humanitarian concerns at our southern border,” she said.
Lujan Grisham also ordered troops from outside New Mexico to return to their home states. This included troops from Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, NBC News reports. She did, however, direct some troops in Hidalgo County and some of the surrounding southwestern areas to stay in place. Those troops will “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 added.
“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,” Lujan Grisham said.
There are about one dozen guardsmen in this small group, according to The Associated Press.
This area has seen a sizable influx of Mexican families recently, including a group of 306 migrants which arrived on January 25.
The governor also directed New Mexico’s Department of Public Safety to temporarily deploy six New Mexico State Police officers to provide assistance to local law enforcement in Hidalgo County.
Lujan Grisham is also the first Latina Democratic official to be elected governor of New Mexico, winning a decisive victory thanks to high voter turnout.
And she definitely has a sense of humor and posted this funny video on Twitter Tuesday.
All of this talk about walls tonight… #SOTU pic.twitter.com/QFLAYHor0t
— MichelleLujanGrisham (@Michelle4NM) February 6, 2019
And the video below also highlights her decision to pull troops from the border.
Featured image license CC Attribution 2.0 by AFGE via Wikimedia Commons
