At a press conference Thursday morning, Gov. Jeff Landry announced his intention to send Louisiana National Guard troops to Texas to assist in efforts to secure the border.  As we have all witnessed in horror over the past three years, President Joe Biden has opened the border to any and all who would come, causing unprecedented numbers of illegal aliens to pour over the border, which cost Louisiana taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year in dealing with the fallout of increased crime rates, fentanyl deaths, healthcare and education costs to taxpayers from those illegally here.

Governor Jeff Landry to Hold Press Conference https://t.co/zie3lEI2yB

— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) February 8, 2024

(the press conference begins at the 8:45 mark)

In the last four months, the United States has had the highest number of illegal border crossings each month, hitting the all-time high of 300,000 in December alone. That’s an average amount of 10,000 per day.

“Today we stand in uniform agreement in support of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott to send our National Guard to the border,” Gov. Landry said. “I can promise you, if Donald Trump were President today, he would have made sure to have made the funds available that are necessary to have that border secured.”

When leaving office, President Donald Trump left America with the lowest numbers of illegal border crossings in 45 years. Biden immediately reversed every policy Trump had put into place that was successful, most importantly the Remain in Mexico policy that incentivized Mexico not to let people come across their southern border to get to ours. Pretty simple to see where the fault lies, and it is squarely in the lap of the Biden Administration.

“Securing this nation’s borders is a crucial and primary duty of our government. The Louisiana Freedom Caucus supports Gov. Jeff Landry in his efforts to help do the job President Biden refuses to do: secure our border,” said Beryl Amedée, Chairman of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus, who stood with Gov. Landry at the press conference. “This is a blatant disregard for the safety and sovereignty of the American people.”

Since Biden took office, over two million pounds of drugs have been seized which includes over 30,000 pounds of fentanyl, a drug that is killing 125,000 of our people a year, over 1,000 deaths in Louisiana alone.

“The duties we will be expected to handle are the duties our soldiers have been trained for. We will be in support of the Texas National Guard at the border. If they encounter illegal border crossers, they will hand off to local law enforcement,” Brigadier General Michael M Greer, director of the Louisiana military detachment. “Any time we plan this type of operation, that we mobilize soldiers, those types of training events that build skills, that is very good for us.  They will be under the leadership of the Texas National Guard.”

Another main concern of members of the legislature in attendance at the press conference in support of the deployment is the human trafficking element.

“The border is an issue not just for Texas but for every state. Close to my heart is the issue of child sex trafficking coming across the border in increasing numbers right now. This needs to stop,” said Rep. Emily Chenevert, a freshman member of the legislature and Louisiana Freedom Caucus. “Drug cartels and traffickers teamed up because they figured out they could sell children five to six times a day, so their focus changed. Why sell drugs one time when children are so much more fruitfully exploited?”

Former Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards twice briefly sent Louisiana Guardsmen to Texas, in 2018 and in 2021. The cost is expected to reach $3 million to deploy the guard and help close the border. However, Louisiana spends nearly $605 million per year due to illegal immigration. Approximately $347 million of that number funds children’s education for those illegally present in Louisiana alone.

“It is concerning that the Biden Administration won’t do the baseline job of the federal government, so if we need to take up that slack in the states, we will,” said State Representative Roger Wilder, another freshman member of the legislature and the Louisiana Freedom Caucus.

Gov. Landry is making sure that Louisiana will assist in once again securing the border, helping to get under control the wildly out-of-control southern border. He considers our communities and our children worth the effort.