UNDATED (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann visited members of the North Dakota National Guard during a trip this week to an area of intense political interest – the southern border.
Burgum and Dohrmann, adjutant general for the North Dakota National Guard, received briefings from Guard officials and met with soldiers assigned to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
“These soldiers are detecting tens of thousands of attempted illegal crossings, and in the process they’re helping to protect our country, state and communities and save lives from illegal activity including drug and human trafficking,” Burgum said in a statement.
Border agents intercepted 34% more fentanyl and 68% more cocaine in January than the previous month, the Customs and Border Protection said in a release this week.
The trip comes on the heels of the U.S. House impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a 214-213 vote for willfully ignoring immigration law and lying to Congress about the status of border security. The vote came after the Senate failed to pass a $95 billion security package that would have allocated funding and policy changes at the southern border and extended foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
In a social media post, North Dakota Rep. Kelly Armstong said, “Secretary Mayorkas has made a conscious choice to disregard federal law. For three years he has refused to secure the southern border. Tonight, the House did our duty and impeached the worst cabinet secretary in our lifetime.”
Since October 2021, four different North Dakota National Guard units have been deployed to various points along the almost 2,000-mile southern border to assist with border protection operations, according to the North Dakota National Guard.
Most of the troops have been deployed under federal orders, with the deployments funded by the Department of Defense. In September 2023, the state deployed about 100 National Guard members to the border, with North Dakota funding the effort.
Most recently, about 125 soldiers from Jamestown-based 817th Engineer Company were deployed last October under federal orders. The deployment is expected to last about one year.
The deployment is under what is known as a Title 10 order, which provides authority to the Department of Defense to call up members of active or reserve military units to respond to “continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.” The units report to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They are tasked with assisting with surveillance efforts, maintenance and other needs, according to the National Guard. The units are deployed to different portions of the border depending on the needs of U.S Border Patrol agents, a North Dakota National Guard spokesman said.
Other North Dakota National Guard units deployed to the southern border under federal orders in recent years include:
- Approximately 125 soldiers from the Bismarck-based 1st Battalion, 112th Aviation Regiment returned from a year-long deployment in October 2023.
- Approximately 125 soldiers from the Bismarck-based 957th Engineer Company returned from a year-long deployment in October 2022.
Additionally, about 100 soldiers from Wahpeton-based 188th Engineer Company returned from a month-long deployment under state active duty orders in September 2023. Those soldiers were integrated into the Texas Department of Public Safety and Military Department as part of Operation Lone Star.
Their mission focused on a 25-mile stretch of the southern border in Texas and they conducted 53 observation point and prevent-deter-interdict missions, the National Guard said in a news release. They also performed multiple response team missions to ensure freedom of movement in their area of operations along the border.
The unit also performed more than 2,500 hours of maintenance on equipment that improved Texas agency readiness on the ground, according to the National Guard.
North Dakota spent $2.2 million on the month-long deployment. The North Dakota Emergency Commission approved a loan from the Bank of North Dakota, with the loan to be paid back with taxpayer dollars.
The North Dakota National Guard is made up of about 4,000 citizen-soldiers and airmen, according to its website.
Dohrmann said he was impressed with the professionalism of North Dakota’s soldiers.
“Today we heard from task force leadership that the 817th Engineer Company is a model for how to support Customs and Border Protection, and I’m incredibly proud of their efforts to strengthen our national security,” Dohrmann said.
Comments