Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is getting ready to help Texas Governor Greg Abbott manage illegal border crossings between the U.S. and Mexico. This is happening as Abbott, also a Republican, challenges the current government’s immigration policies under President Joe Biden.
The official confirmation about the decision is expected Tuesday
Kemp plans to make an announcement on Tuesday afternoon. This comes as Georgia’s Republican-controlled Legislature is moving forward with resolutions that criticize Biden’s approach to the border. These resolutions support Kemp in any efforts to provide help for the southern border’s security.
Read also: Gov. Kemp’s sharp rhetoric on Trump: “This election should be about results, not personalities…”
The Georgia Senate passed their resolution with a vote of 31-15 on Monday, and a House committee gave the green light to a similar resolution on Friday.
These resolutions, which strongly reflect the Republican viewpoint, label anyone crossing the border without permission as a criminal. This includes people seeking safety from danger in their home countries, and suggests many are involved in drug trafficking or pose a terrorist threat. These actions are taking place during an important election year, affecting both the presidency and all 236 seats in Georgia’s Legislature.
There are 29 Georgia National Guard troops currently in Texas
Kemp might decide to send more troops from the Georgia National Guard to help in Texas, something he did back in 2019. Currently, 29 members of the Guard are still there, doing tasks like watching from the air.
Kemp was among 13 Republican governors who met with Abbott in Texas on February 4th. Abbott is currently facing off with the Biden administration, especially after Texas started blocking U.S. Border Patrol agents from accessing a park by the Rio Grande.
While Kemp has had his disagreements with former President Donald Trump, he’s keeping his distance from Trump, who is leading among Republicans, and is focusing on supporting other Republicans against Biden. However, during the discussions on Monday, some Georgia Republicans expressed their desire to return to Trump’s border policies.
“We’re condemning President Biden that he took back and did a reversal in regard to what President Trump passed into law by executive order,” said Sen. Majority Leader Steve Gooch, a Dahlonega Republican. “What we’ve said is we want that executive order reinstated.”
Republicans turned down the border bill in the U.S. Senate
During a debate, Democrats criticized Trump and the Republicans for turning down a border security strategy that was put together in the U.S. Senate by a group including Republican Senator James Lankford from Oklahoma.
State Senator Elena Parent, a Democrat from Atlanta, expressed frustration over Republicans in Congress discarding numerous proposals for border security. She highlighted the severity of what she views as their latest failure.
On the other hand, Republicans admitted that their resolution was more about sending a message during an election year. They’ve been focusing on issues that resonate with their base and provoke the opposition. Senator Gooch acknowledged that their actions wouldn’t significantly change the situation but were meant to take a stand on the issue.
Georgia joins a few other Republican-dominated states, like Oklahoma and Tennessee, where lawmakers have recently proposed resolutions to support sending more National Guard troops to assist Abbott in Texas.
Florida already confirmed that the state will send 1,000 National Guard members to Texas
Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the deployment of additional National Guard members to the Texas border, adding to the over 1,000 personnel Florida has already sent, including state troopers and officers, as reported by the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Georgia’s Republicans are repeating their national party’s argument that President Biden doesn’t need Congress’s help to manage the border, pointing out that Democrats had full control of Congress during the first two years of Biden’s term. However, Democrats argue that while they back some level of increased border enforcement, they believe Georgia’s lawmakers have limited influence over federal border policies.
“This resolution is politics for politics’ sake,” said Senate Democratic Whip Harold Jones II, of Augusta.