Texas, Arizona govs calling for states to send police to the border to help deal with border crisis

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Migrants cross into the US as Fox News reports from border

Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins joins 'The Five' with the latest

The governors of Texas and Arizona are calling on their counterparts in other states to send law enforcement to the border to help stem the crisis at the southern border that has overwhelmed officials and border states.

"On behalf of Texas and Arizona, we respectfully but urgently request that you send all available law-enforcement resources to the border in defense of our sovereignty and territorial integrity," Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona wrote in a letter to their fellow governors this week.

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Both the federal government and border states have been dealing with a surge in migration to the border, with more than 180,000 migrants encountered in May alone -- including more than 10,000 unaccompanied children.

Texas and Arizona have seen a number of facilities built, opened or refashioned to house the migrants coming across the border -- including the use of hotels by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Officials have complained that migrants are often let loose into communities and able to travel to wherever they want.

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Both states have sued over the Biden administration’s policies, arguing that border states are hurt the most by the relaxing of Trump-era border and enforcement measures.

But the governors warned other states that it will have a knock-on effect to their states too.

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"This failure to enforcement federal immigration laws causes banns that spill over into every State. The cartels will see to it that their deadly fentanyl and human-trafficking victims reach far and wide," the letter says. "The convicted criminals they smuggle into the homeland will bring recidivism with them to far too many of your communities."

While the governors noted the billions they had spent in border and public safety in recent years, as well as disaster declarations, they argue that "additional manpower is needed from any State that can spare it."

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"Texas and Arizona have stepped up to secure the border in the federal government’s absence, and now the Emergency Management Assistance Compact gives your state a chance to stand strong with us," the governors say.

The letter is the latest warning that the migration crisis, which has shown no signs of dissipating any time soon, is affecting non-border states.

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This week, the governors of Iowa and Tennessee have again raised concerns about unaccompanied migrant children being flown into their states -- and have called for hearings into what they describe as a lack of transparency from the Biden administration on the matter.