The southern border is being described as a crisis, with large numbers of people coming in or attempting to flood into the country, but should Pennsylvania do more to assist?
State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Adams/Franklin), a 30-year army veteran, is urging Governor Josh Shapiro (D) to deploy the Pennsylvania Army National Guard to guard the national border.
Mastriano, who ran unsuccessfully for governor against Shapiro in 2022, claims that every state is now a border state and that “Pennsylvania has a compelling interest to help secure the southern border.”
Mastriano filed a resolution claiming that the undocumented population is putting a strain on schools, hospitals, and law enforcement in every Commonwealth municipality, as well as the porous border, which is killing Pennsylvanians.
“We have about 5,000 fentanyl deaths every year in Pennsylvania, and most of that fentanyl is coming across the Mexican border,” Mastriano said.
Many Democrats disagree with Mastriano, who claims he is responding to a call to action in Texas.
“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should not and must not engage in supporting the reckless irresponsible actions of a (Texas) Governor out of control and himself in violation of the law,” stated State Senator Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia).
There is precedent for Pennsylvania Army National Guard personnel to be sent across state lines. Guardsmen were ordered to combat Pancho Villa in 1916, and Governor Ed Rendell allowed them to volunteer on the southern border in 2006.
Governor Shapiro says Congress must protect the border and fix a dysfunctional immigration system, not repeat the failed talking points and political grandstanding that have resulted in decades without immigration reform.
Mastriano’s resolution passed the State Senate on party lines, but he did not speak with Governor Shapiro, who had the authority to sign it into law.
“I have been in contact with the legislator, a counterpart in the Texas Senate, and they want us and they need us pretty bad,” Mr. Mastriano said.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, the state’s top Republican, has also called on the Governor to send troops to Texas.
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