Noem announces National Guard deployment to southern border

PIERRE, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Gov. Kristi Noem announced Thursday that she will deploy at least 50 South Dakota National Guard troops to the southern border later this summer.

Noem joins 12 other Republican governors who are responding to a call from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to help Texas with the crisis at the southern border, according to Noem’s office.

“The border crisis is growing worse under President Biden’s willful inaction. Across the country, crime rates, drug overdoses, and human trafficking have all skyrocketed because our border remains a warzone,” said Gov. Noem. “Our National Guard soldiers are the best prepared to tackle this challenge. They have proven that they can serve with excellence in a situation such as this, and I am confident that they will do so again.”

Two years ago, Gov. Noem was the first governor to deploy National Guard troops to the southern border at the request of the governors of Texas and Arizona.