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Republican governors from across America are taking matters into their own hands to address the border crisis that continues to plague communities throughout the nation under President Biden's administration.
A majority of America's governors have agreed to work together to combat criminal activity stemming from the border in an effort dubbed the American Governors' Border Strike Force. As part of the initiative, 26 governors plan to work without the federal government to counteract the unprecedented surge in illegal drugs and smuggling that have cause harm to American communities.
Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who spoke to Fox News Digital in an interview on Wednesday and is a leading member of the effort, said what's taking place now is "the worst border crisis in the last 50 years, and it’s only going to get worse when they lift Title 42."
Modeled after his 2015 effort known as the Arizona Border Strike Force, Ducey said the governors will work together "to share information [and] law enforcement assets so that we can track down cartels and drug activity to not only put the bad guys behind bars, but to eliminate and reduce the number of overdose deaths that are happening in our schools, neighborhoods, and cities."
"As governors, we’re doing everything we can," Ducey said. "This is the federal government’s responsibility. Our people in southern Arizona are absolutely overwhelmed, as are the federal government’s Customs and Border Protection, law enforcement agents, along with the border patrol. We need support from the federal government, but they’re averting their gaze. They’ve got an open borders policy and all of our states are paying for this, specifically our border states."
Ducey, a longtime advocate for the restoration of law and order at America's southern border, said the "terrible poison" traveling throughout America is a result of the Biden administration putting the "drug cartels in charge of their border policy."
"Every state is a border state right now," he said. "These drugs may come across the southern border and affect Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and California, but these overdoses are happening in places like Omaha, Indianapolis, and Toledo, Ohio. Every governor that cares about kids and young people — and the rule of law — cares about enforcement on our border."
Ducey said the cartels are "using the human smuggling component of a broken border to distract good men and women doing the best that they can — even with the support of the National Guard at the state level — to bring these drugs over in mass and to sell them in our neighborhoods."
Referencing a 10-point plan to help solve the border crisis that was introduced by Republican governors last fall, Ducey reiterated that Biden has failed to take action. "These were the policies that were in place when he came into office," he said.
"Under the Trump/Pence administration, in many ways, the border situation was solved," Ducey said. "Joe Biden overturned every one of them willy nilly … all of those things want to reduce the border surges."
"Joe Biden has announced that our border is open," he added. "He’s offered free healthcare in the first Democratic primary debate to people that break the law and his federal prosecutors have a catch and release policy. All of this combined has added up to the worst border crisis in the last 50 years and it’s only going to get worse when they lift Title 42."
Echoing his remarks, several of Ducey's counterparts from across the country told Fox News Digital of the importance of the newly announced initiative and took aim at the Biden administration for its failure to secure America's porous southern border.
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