After attempting to send a message to the Biden Administration at the Texas-Mexico border with more than a dozen other Republican governors, Governor Brad Little is urging the federal government to protect the southern border.
Over the weekend, Governor Little met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and 13 other governors in Eagle Pass for a border briefing. The group also organized a press conference to urge the Biden administration to secure the nation’s borders.
Governor Brad Little returned to the Gem State after his third visit to the southern border.
“Every time I visit the border, one simple fact is reinforced: The cartels – not the American government, and not the Mexico government – are controlling access into our country,” the governor said. “The cartels purposely overwhelm the Border Patrol agents with illegal crossings in one area as a distraction, and then they smuggle the bad guys and drugs across in other areas.”
Little discussed harmful narcotics such as fentanyl, which he described as cheap, dangerous, abundant, and lethal. Between 2020 and 2022, all drug overdoses in Idaho increased by 33%.
“Mexico drug cartels are responsible for the fentanyl supply in our region,” Governor Little stated.
Governor Little has now demanded that the Biden Administration take steps to safeguard the southern border.
“Congress has a requirement to act, but there’s a lot the president can do with an executive order right now,” the governor said. “In particular, he can do what Republican governors called on him to do for three straight years – Bring back Trump’s border policies immediately to protect America, restore security, and put us on a path to end the crisis at our southern border.”
The meeting of 15 governors in Texas happened just over a week after Governor Little announced that Idaho State Police troopers would be sent to the border to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The state troopers will train with the Texas DPS to understand techniques for combating drug and human trafficking.
“That is training for my guys that we can’t get anywhere else,” Idaho State Police Lt. Colonel Sheldon Kelley said. “They bring that back to Idaho, and they use that to train other folks, and use it here to benefit this state.”
This will be the third time state troopers have been deployed to the southern border since 2021. Troopers Michael Grigg and Christopher James Cottrell were part of the prior deployments.
“For us, it was a huge eye-opener,” Grigg added. “It really changed a lot of the techniques that we use in man tracks as far as apprehending fugitives.”
According to Cottrell, much of the training they receive at the border focuses on strategies for watching and detecting criminals, conducting interviews, and pursuing investigations deeper into criminal organizations.
“We’ve been largely familiar with drug trafficking, and we’re now learning a lot more from Texas DPS relative to human trafficking and smuggling,” Cottrell said in a statement. “So all of these things that are going to help us now become better at what we do – we can now bring home, apply ourselves, and train other officers.”