Gov. Sarah Sanders Deploys Dozens of Arkansas National Guard Troops to Southern Border

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks at a press conference on Nov. 17, 2023. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Facebook/Screenshot via NTD

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she would deploy dozens of Arkansas National Guard soldiers to assist Texas in its efforts to secure the southern border.

“President Biden opened our southern border to an invasion of illegal immigrants, drugs, and human trafficking,” Ms. Sanders said in a statement on Tuesday. “I’ve seen the crisis our President created, and I know the incredible men and women of the Arkansas Guard can help supplement Texas’ efforts to keep our border secure.”

The Republican governor announced Tuesday that she is sending approximately 40 Arkansas guard members to support Texas National Guard members from April 1 through May 30.

It is not the first time Ms. Sanders, who took office in January 2023, has deployed her state’s National Guard to the U.S.–Mexico border.

In July, she deployed about 80 troops to provide support as illegal crossings surged to record levels. Ms. Sanders’ predecessor, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, sent about 40 guard members to the southern border for three months in 2021.

“The Arkansas National Guard has a rich history of helping neighboring states in a crisis,” said Maj. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, Arkansas’ adjutant general. “We assisted Texas last year and have done so under previous administrations. Our Soldiers will be well prepared and ready to assist the Texas National Guard’s operations.”

In February, Ms. Sanders, along with more than a dozen other governors, visited Eagle Pass, Texas, to show support for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in an ongoing legal battle over border policy enforcement with the Biden administration.

“President Biden has abandoned his constitutional duty to protect Americans by refusing to secure our southern border,” Mr. Abbott said during a press conference at the border on Feb. 4. “During his presidency, Joe Biden has smashed records for illegal immigration and allowed total chaos to be unleashed along our southern border.”

Senate Bill 4 Blocked Again

On March 20, a federal appeals court panel of three judges temporarily blocked Senate Bill 4, Texas’ new immigration law that would allow state and local law enforcement to arrest and deport illegal immigrants.

The hearing is the latest in a volley of court orders on the law that the Department of Justice has challenged.

The Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the law at the district level, arguing that it was unconstitutional and that the federal government has exclusive power to enforce immigration law.

The law would make crossing the border illegally a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Repeat offenses would be considered a second-degree felony with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

State lawyers say the law works in conjunction with federal authority, arguing that Texas has the right to protect its borders and arrest and remove those who cross illegally into the state.

The district court issued an injunction blocking SB 4 from going into effect on March 5.

Texas appealed the district court’s decision, and a three-judge panel ruled in the state’s favor. The injunction was lifted, but an administrative stay was issued to allow the U.S. Supreme Court to review it.

On March 19, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Texas to begin enforcing the measure after rejecting an emergency request by the DOJ to stay the previous hold.

“Today’s order vacates the administrative stay previously issued by the Supreme Court, thus allowing Texas to immediately enforce the law while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decides whether to grant a stay pending appeal,” the Texas Office of the Attorney General said in a press release following the ruling.

The justices did not offer a legal conclusion on SB 4, but Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in her concurrence, seemed to urge the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to take up the matter quickly. Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

“For now, Texas has defeated the Biden Administration’s and ACLU’s emergency motions at the Supreme Court,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Our immigration law, SB 4, is now in effect. As always, it’s my honor to defend Texas and its sovereignty and to lead us to victory in court.”

Hours later, the new panel of Fifth Circuit judges issued an order temporarily halting the law—again—and scheduled emergency oral arguments for Wednesday, March 20.

Judge Irma Carillo Ramirez, an appointee of President Joe Biden, remained quiet during the arguments presented by Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielson, the DOJ, and the ACLU.

Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, an appointee of President George W. Bush, appeared skeptical of the measure.

“This is the first time, it seems to me, that a state has claimed that they have the right to remove illegal aliens,” Chief Judge Richman told Mr. Nielson, according to CNN. “I mean, this is not a power that historically has been exercised by states, has it?”

Judge Andrew Oldham, who dissented from the March 19 decision to block the law temporarily, asked to what extent states could act on immigration enforcement. Judge Oldham was appointed by President Donald Trump.

The March 20 hearing was related to the decision on whether to keep SB 4 on hold before addressing the substance of Texas’ appeal of the lower court’s preliminary injunction.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t understand it,” Mr. Paxton told Glenn Beck during an interview about the back and forth over SB 4 on Wednesday. “It’s bizarre.”

Oral arguments for the appeal are set for April 3.