BOISE, Idaho — Governor Brad Little is sending two more teams of Idaho State Police troopers to the Texas-Mexico border, his office announced on Friday, Jan. 26. The governor also issued a proclamation calling January "Idaho Stands With Texas in Securing the Nation's Border Month."
This comes after Little announced in his 2024 State of the State address earlier this month that he would follow up on previous deployments. Little said the the troopers will assist with controlling the border and learn tactics on policing human trafficking.
"We will work even harder to address the open border and its impacts because of the failure of the Biden-Harris administration to admit it's even a problem," Little said in his speech. "Human trafficking is modern day slavery. The cartel and other bad actors are taking advantage of our open border to manipulate and abuse the most vulnerable, including children."
In May 2023, the Idaho governor sent two teams of troopers to the border. According to a news release, the troopers came back to the state and trained other local law enforcement. Little also visited the southern border of Texas last May and created a roundtable of legislators and law enforcement to discuss ways to help border states.
Additionally, Little and 24 other governors backing Texas Governor Greg Abbott penned a statement on Thursday showing their support.
“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border," the letter states. "We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally."
The proclamation Little issued Friday states that Idaho stands in solidarity with Texas, Biden has failed to secure the borders, there is a direct tie to drug smuggling and the "loose southern border," that troopers come back to Idaho with "cutting-edge drug interdiction techniques" and there is an "absence of leadership in the Executive Branch of the U.S."
Read the full proclamation here.
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