Two National Guard units from New Hampshire are being sent to help with the border crisis.
In a Monday press release, Chris Sununu, the Governor of New Hampshire, stated that two units would be sent to the border to respond to a federal mobilization order issued by the Department of Defense. As the Biden administration continues to escalate the crisis, this is the second deployment of National Guardsmen by the Granite State to help U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at its border.
Sununu stated in the press release that New Hampshire was grateful for the brave men and women of the National Guard. They answered the call to service during the COVID pandemic and now they are responding to our nation’s call by deploying to the ongoing humanitarian crisis at our southern border. New Hampshire stands with our National Guard as these brave men, women, and children deploy. We wish everyone a speedy and safe return home.
According to the release, 44 soldiers from Headquarters 941st Military Police Battalion will be deployed to a border sector that extends approximately 250 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. These soldiers will then be deployed to command and control four subordinate companies, each from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Illinois. This totals approximately 500 soldiers. This is the first deployment of the unit.
The 941st Battalion will be joined by approximately 120 soldiers from the 237th Military Police Company. They will be deployed primarily to monitor sites in the same sector. To aid in the fight against illegal migration, drugs, money, and weapons, Border Patrol agents will be notified by the guardsmen. The soldiers cannot interact with border crossers, however.
Each unit will be in use for one year.
These units were there to support New Hampshire’s response efforts at the peak of the COVID pandemic. They also assisted the Department of Corrections in 2021 when they faced a staff shortage in state prisons. They also supported local hospitals and responded to civil unrest following George Floyd’s death. The 237th company was also deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and 2013.
In the press release, it was also mentioned that the previous National Guard unit had deployed to the southwest frontier between October 2020 and Nov 2021. The soldiers who served on that deployment assisted with more than 200,000 arrests, and drug seizures totaling over $893 million, as well as 20 lives, were saved by migrant families.
Local news outlet WMUR reported Monday, that the Department of Defense issued a federal mobilization order. Sununu said that more than 12 states sent Guard units to support the effort. Greg Heilshorn, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire National Guard, stated that the Guard’s presence will allow agents to “focus more on the ground” and deal with people crossing the border.
Under the Biden administration, the border crisis has gotten worse. In the fiscal year 2022, the Biden administration made more than 2 million arrests at the border of illegal immigrants. This is the first time that border officials have crossed this threshold.
After reports that Venezuela was sending criminals over the border, House Republicans wrote Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS Secretary, in September. Along with the influx of migrants, deadly drugs such as fentanyl are also being transported across the border at high speeds.
