CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have been approved for deployment to the Southern Border, Gov. Jim Justice announced on Wednesday.
Fifty National Guard members were authorized to deploy to Texas to help with Operation Lone Star as part of an Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Justice’s release said.
Justice said that several governors are doing the same “because the situation on our Southern Border is terrible.”
The National Guard will work alongside the Texas National Guard and Texas law enforcement partners to detect, deter, and interdict transnational criminal activity between points of entry, according to Justice.
The governor said the National Guard members will be sent in August, and all soldiers and airmen will be volunteers. “No units are being mobilized for this support,” he said.
This comes after the end of Title 42, a Trump-era policy used during the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented non-citizens from entering the country at the border due to public health reasons. It expired on May 11 when the COVID-19 public health emergency ended.
