SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 9, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday announced he’ll be sending members of the Utah Highway Patrol and National Guard to the U.S. border with Mexico in Texas.
The action comes just days after Cox visited the border with 14 other Republican governors and amid an Emergency Management Assistance Compact request from Texas.
“Open borders threaten our national security,” Cox said, “and if the president and Congress won’t solve the influx of people and drugs, states have to step up. 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.”
On Feb. 26, the Utah National Guard will send five soldiers from its engineer battalion to maintain military equipment on the southern border. In addition, one sergeant and four troopers from UHP’s Criminal Interdiction Team specializing in drug investigations will be deployed for 30 days, the governor said.
UHP estimates the monthlong deployment will cost nearly $100,000, while the two-week Utah National Guard deployment will cost about $50,000, according to the governor’s office. Cost for the deployments will be covered by the Governor’s Office Emergency Fund.
Utah has responded to several Emergency Management Assistance Compact requests in recent years, including sending troopers and guard members to assist with the emergency response to 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.
