Governor Spencer Cox will order Utah National Guard troops to go to the southern border in Texas.
It follows a request from Texas authorities, the governor’s office said Friday. Gov. Cox has agreed to send five soldiers from the Utah National Guard’s engineer battalion to maintain military equipment on the southern border. Five others who work for Utah’s Department of Public Safety who specialize in drug investigations will be deployed for a month.
The governor visited the southern border with other governors from across the nation last week.
“Open borders threaten our national security and if the president and Congress won’t solve the influx of people and drugs, states have to step up,” said Gov. Cox in a statement. “Right now, Texas needs our help and we’re grateful to our National Guard members, state Troopers and their families for their willingness to serve and keep us safe.”
It will cost about $150,000 in taxpayer dollars out of the governor’s emergency fund.
The governor has deployed troops to help with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and providing security at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016. Since 2018, the Utah National Guard has sent 226 Guard members to the border on various missions.