There is growing speculation Georgia Governor Brian Kemp could announce the deployment of the state's National Guard to help combat illegal immigration into Texas after a resolution authorizing this was approved by the state Senate on Friday.
The Georgia Senate voted 31-15 in support of a resolution expressing support for "any action taken by Governor Brian Kemp to allocate resources and assistance to the protection of the southern border as well as the actions of Governor Greg Abbott to safeguard the people of Texas." A similar resolution was approved by a Georgia House committee on Monday.
Kemp is due to make an announcement on Tuesday afternoon with the Associated Press reporting he is "poised to offer aid to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's effort to control illegal crossings," potentially by deploying soldiers from the Georgia National Guard.
If the deployment is confirmed, it wouldn't be the first time Kemp has sent the Georgia National Guard to Texas. In 2019, he dispatched 29 of the part-time soldiers to the Lone Star State to help secure the border.
Newsweek contacted the offices of Governor Kemp and Governor Abbott, by telephone and email respectively, outside of usual business hours. This article will be updated if either wishes to comment.
During Monday's Georgia state Senate debate, Democrats hit out at congressional Republicans in Washington D.C. for torpedoing a bipartisan Senate agreement last week that would have provided additional border control funding as well as tightened the asylum process while providing military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Republican critics, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, argued the legislation was insufficient to combat illegal immigration and refused to support it.
State Senator Elena Parent, a Democrat, commented: "This list of opportunities to secure the border thrown in the trash can by congressional Republicans is long. But none of this list compares to the most recent debacle we have witnessed."
If Kemp announces the deployment of the state's National Guard to Texas, he will be following in the footsteps of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who on February 1 released a statement saying 1,000 Florida National Guard soldiers would be sent to the state.
Speaking in support of Abbott, DeSantis said: "States have every right to defend their sovereignty and we are pleased to increase our support to Texas as the Lone Star State works to stop the invasion across the border.
"Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border. We don't have a country if we don't have a border."
Tensions between Abbott and the Biden administration surged on January 22 when the Supreme Court ruled federal agents can remove razor wire placed along the border on the Texan governor's orders.
In a furious response, Abbott claimed Texas was being "invaded" and invoked the state's "constitutional authority to defend and protect itself," which he insisted "is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary."
A joint statement was released by 25 other Republican governors, including Kemp, supporting Abbott and asserting that "Texas has a constitutional right to defend itself and the nation."
Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, also spoke out in support of Abbott and urged other states to deploy National Guard troops to support Texas.
He said: "We encourage all willing States to deploy their guards to Texas to prevent the entry of Illegals, and to remove them back across the Border."
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James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more
