Fox News says it’s seen documents that highlight several state National Guards, including Indiana’s, which the Department of Defense plans to use to support immigration enforcement.
The network’s Aug. 22 report said: “…documents show operations beginning in Idaho, Indiana, Iowa and Nevada during the first week of September." And these operations will go through mid-November.
WFIU/WTIU News has reached out to the Indiana National Guard, the Office of the Governor, The Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. National Guard, and Secretary of Defense’s office for confirmation.
We were referred to a July 25 announcement that said the defense department will use up to 1,700 National Guardsmen to support ICE operations. The announcement said it’s reassigning 1,200 military personnel –which are National Guardsmen– to work under state authority while still being federally funded to support ICE operations. Another 500 may also be called.
The announcement said guardsmen will handle logistical duties in immigration enforcement, so that ICE can “dedicate more trained agents to core law enforcement activities, significantly enhancing overall effectiveness.”
The White House issued an executive order Monday that each state’s Army National Guard and National Air Guard should be available to help “federal, state, and local law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate, as appropriate under law.”
An unnamed defense department official confirmed to NewsNation that it would deploy troops to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
The Monroe County Commissioners told WFIU/WTIU, it has not received “any information nor requests for quartering” deployed troops.
