States leaders who are refusing to comply with President Donald Trump's order to send National Guard troops to secure the nation's border with Mexico are being "outrageous," former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said Saturday.
"It's unfortunate, you know," Brewer told Fox News' Neil Cavuto. "It's unfortunate, you know, they're just sitting on their hands and doing nothing. Are they not taking the issue seriously?...it's outrageous what they're doing."
However, she said that she is encouraged that in some states, California in particular, where local leaders are stepping up to respect their oaths and protect their citizens.
Some states, even places like Montana and Nevada, where GOP governors are in office, have refused to send troops from their Guard units to meet Trump's call.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, tweeted this past week that she's "deeply troubled" by Trump's call to send troops to the border, and that she'd refuse to send Guard members to meet the president's call.
Brown later tweeted that she has no intention of allowing the National Guard troops from her state to be used to distract from Trump's "troubles in Washington."
In Arizona, however, Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, said his state would deploy 150 troops to the border. In Texas, officials said that 250 troops, along with military equipment and aircraft, will be sent.
On Friday, Defense Secretary James Mattis received a memo from Trump allowing the Guard to deploy up to 4,000 from the Guard to the border. The president has said they will stay there until a full border wall is finished.
Brewer said Saturday that Trump's call for troops is "terrific news," that shows he is "taking real steps to secure our border."
"He he is delivering on his promises and I'm excited and I'm encouraged that they're sending the National Guard to the border, and here in Arizona we're going to send 150 starting next week," she told Cavuto.
States that won't follow the president's directive, however, are "not serious" about dreamers, the catch release policy that allows immigrants to be freed while they seek asylum, or other loopholes that result in more immigrants to remain in the United States, the former governor said.
"They're turning a blind eye and it is wrong, it's absolutely wrong," said Brewer. "The first and foremost thing that government is responsible for is to keep our country sovereign and to keep their citizens safe….we in Arizona understand the situations it brings into your community more so than somebody that's living in Kansas."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.