South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem joins other GOP govs in sending National Guard troops to US-Mexico border

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem announced on Monday that the state will send 50 National Guard troops to Texas to assist in securing the southern border.

"Tomorrow morning I'm officially announcing up to 50 National Guard troops to Texas to help secure our border," Noem wrote in a Twitter post Monday evening.

"The Biden Administration has failed to keep America safe. We shouldn't be making our own communities vulnerable by sending police to fix Biden's border crisis."

Noem's announcement follows those made by other GOP governors earlier this month. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this month, where he announced that Florida would be sending 50 state law enforcement officers to aid in the crisis as well.

"Governors Abbott and Ducey recently sent out a call for help to every state in the nation, needing additional law enforcement manpower and other resources to aid with border security. I'm proud to announce today that the state of Florida is answering the call. Florida has your back," DeSantis had promised on June 16, officially announcing the action last Friday.

Individual states have been taking the matter of securing the southern border into their own hands as the number of people crossing into the US remains historically high.

According to the US Customs and Border Patrol, in Fiscal Year 2021, currently with numbers ending in May, 929,686 people were encountered entering into the US through the southwest border. This has already doubled the number of encounters in 2020, (458,088) and is on track to beat the previous historic high of fiscal year 2019 (977,509).

In an effort to continue building the border wall, which in many places has huge gaps to allow people to walk in, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state has placed a $250 million down payment on completing the wall in Texas.

"Homes are being invaded, neighborhoods are dangerous and people are being threatened on a daily basis with guns by people coming across the border or those working with those coming across the border," Abbott said.

In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds stated back in March, as the country experienced its largest spike in southern border immigration, bringing along with it a record number of unaccompanied minors, that her state would not take in unaccompanied minors despite federal requests to do such.

"This is due to limited resources and administrative concerns. We have an obligation to take care of our children first and absent the resources or a clear and comprehensive plan for federal support, we were unable to accommodate the request. We acknowledge this is an incredibly saddening and difficult situation," stated the Iowa Department of Human Services Director Kelly Garcia.