New York State Republican leaders Assemblyman Will Barclay (R,C, I-Pulaski) and Senator Rob Ortt (R, C, I-Lockport) penned a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul requesting that she use her executive authority to deploy the New York State National Guard to the state of Texas and New York-Canadian border to assist in efforts to stop the illegal flow of migrants into the country.
The letter was sent in response to continuing illegal border crossings that have shown no signs of slowing down. Rather than ending the migrant crisis, Barclay and Ortt wrote, Hochul’s unacceptable responses have had the effect of fueling the crisis with a continued influx of taxpayer dollars.
“More than 8 million border encounters have occurred since President Biden took office. In 2023, over 2.5 million migrants entered the country through the southern border. In December alone, 302,034 encounters were reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. On New York’s Northern Border, 91,640 illegal crossings were reported in the past year,” stated the letter.
The letter continued, “Immigration reform is a matter that must be dealt with on the Federal level. However, we hope you agree that the state’s sovereign right to protect its citizens and its communities must be valued above the actions of federal authorities. For this reason, we urge you to deploy the National Guard immediately to assist the State of Texas and New York-Canadian border in efforts to stop the flow of migrants coming into our country illegally.
“In 2006 and 2007, Army National Guard troops were sent to assist US Border Patrol in four states along the southern border as part of Operation Jump Start. In fact, I, Senator Ortt, was stationed and served in Nogales, Arizona during this time, demonstrating a clear precedent for this action.”
In her recently proposed executive budget, Hochul has earmarked $2.4 billion in taxpayer dollars for migrants, bringing the total to $4.3 billion over the last two years. Meanwhile, schools throughout New York State are taking cuts to their budgets and students have been kicked out of their schools because of the need to house migrants in school buildings. The latest announcement from Hochul charged the Department of Civil Service with rolling out a taxpayer-funded, state-run program that will provide training and state government jobs specifically for migrants. Barclay and Ortt said Hochul has proven that they prefer to provide services for migrants at the expense of taxpayers.
“Our constituents and colleagues are demanding action, leadership, and results in response to the migrant crisis. An effective response is long overdue. We encourage you to use your authority to deploy the National Guard at the Texas and New York Canadian borders and help advance legislative measures that directly address concerns brought on by the migrant crisis. We must urge President Biden to finally secure America’s borders,” concluded Barclay and Ortt.
The copy of the letter is available here.