Published on February 4, 2024, 1:41 am

South Dakota’s Governor, Kristi Noem, recently communicated a grave warning regarding the ramifications of the increasing influx of illegal immigrants into her state. As the ongoing crisis at the southern border reaches unprecedented levels, Noem issued a statement outlining the detrimental impact of Mexican drug cartels on her state and its existing communities, including townships established for Native American citizens.

In Governor Noem’s own words, “South Dakota is directly affected by this invasion. Cartel presence impacts our tribal reservations; drugs’ distribution and human trafficking pervade our communities; a strain on resources ensues at local, state, and federal level.” She drew attention to the sheer number of illegal migrants entering the US lately which has reportedly caused every state to consider itself as a border state.

Governor Noem assures that South Dakota was proactive in responding to the escalating situation by sending National Guard soldiers to aid with deteriorating conditions at the southern borders in past months. However, she warns that further deterioration of circumstances is on-going and utilises this fact to reiterate that this issue pertains not only to states situated alongside borders such as Texas but indeed concerns all Americans due to these repercussions.

She offered unwavering solidarity towards Texas Governor Greg Abbott in his legal tug-of-war against the Biden administration regarding enforcement of federal immigration law within states. As per her stance, when federal authorities fail their duties toward citizens, responsibility falls upon individual states. The current discourse among Democratic politicians advocating for President Biden’s federalization of the Texas National Guard underlines these sentiments.

The South Dakotan leader illuminated her perspicacious fears about an unprecedented precedent potentially being set if any president deploys national forces expressly for standing down or diminishing safety standards. The implications of this act would mean compromising each state’s defense autonomy, regardless if it is South Dakota or any other.

Governors’ role as heads of National Guards sets them apart from reports to distant federal bodies. Each governor, as Noem asserts, possesses intimate knowledge of their state’s anomalies and therefore is more suited to making appropriate decisions for their respective National Guards. Nothing short of that perspective would suffice for South Dakota’s constituent interests.

To underline this sentiment, she announced that South Dakota remains committed to assisting with the humanitarian calamity at the southern border. The existence of drug cartels within her state’s boundaries has catapulted alarmingly dangerous implications into reality. These infiltrations perpetuate open violence on a daily basis against South Dakotan families and contribute to the rising drug and human trafficking crisis claiming numerous innocent lives each day.

In fact, Governor Noem is not alone in her concerns. As recently as last week, 26 Republican governors had declared their unanimous support for Texas Governor Abbott. Several amongst them even pledged added assistance by offering National Guard soldiers as reinforcement forces.

At present, United States citizens could benefit enormously from adhering to trusted news sources and developing a balanced Christian worldview on relevant social issues such as immigration policy. Now more than ever, communities need access to real news relating to local circumstances so they can stay informed on situations that directly affect them.