Lee: Surge of migrants is ‘overwhelming’
Republicans nationwide have seized on the issue
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Sunday called the recent surge in the number of migrants trying to cross into America “an overwhelming situation” following his trip to the nation’s southern border.
The governor’s visit comes after several top federal officials traveled to the border as the number of migrants spiked since President Joe Biden took office. Republicans across the country have seized on the issue and criticized the Biden administration for failure to contain potential security risks.
Lee said the numbers have grown in recent months, which he said brought about increased levels of criminal activities such as sex, human and drug trafficking. Migrants were crossing from 56 countries, he said.
“We didn’t see the movement of people from countries overseas,” he said. “As the surge increases, all criminal activities increase . ... They all have surged, and that’s why we have a particular crisis today that’s unique from years past.”
Federal data show higher monthly encounters between border officers and migrants at the border than in recent years. More than 180,000 encounters occurred in May, the most in the past four years, data show.
Lee said the spikes represent “a significant change” that contributed to the current border crisis. But he refused to quote specific numbers of crossing migrants during Sunday’s press conference.
The governor said there has been a change “in priority” after Biden took office. But he did not specify any major policy differences between the Biden administration and former President Donald Trump’s administration.
“President Trump talked about this as a top priority all of the time, and that’s one of the things that I will encourage the Biden administration; it can make this a top priority,” he said.
Tennessee has 300 troops from the state National Guard stationed at the southern border, providing air and ground surveillance, technology assistance and maintenance, Lee said Sunday. They are not involved in apprehension of migrants, he said.
The troops are funded by the federal Title 10 program, but they are deployed at the state’s discretion, Lee said. When asked whether he will accept private funds to send the troops, Lee did not rule out the idea.
“What we’ll do is look at all options about how to provide support down there,” he said. “But nothing is off the table.”
A Williamson County-based foundation provided funds to South Dakota to send troops to the southern border for 30 to 60 days.
Lee’s visit to the southern border came nine months after the troops first arrived Oct. 1. They include:
• Members of the 269th Military Police Company who are helping train law enforcement and are supplementing the police presence at the border.
• Engineers from the 913th Company, who are assisting with road construction and border wall projects.
• The 2nd Battalion of the 151st Aviation Regiment, which is helping Customs and Border Protection.
Lee previously said the troops will remain there “so long as there is a crisis.” His office said troops’ current mission will last through the fiscal year, meaning they could return in October.
The governor was accompanied by Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes, adjutant general of the Tennessee National Guard.
Meanwhile, Tennessee Republican lawmakers are demanding more transparency from the Biden administration on its handling of unaccompanied migrant minors delivered to states.
They formed an exclusively Republican joint study committee on refugee issues after reports emerged this spring that planes carrying unaccompanied minors landed in Chattanooga. The committee will meet on Tuesday for a second time to discuss the number of minors received and the process of receiving them.
The resettlement of refugees — a vetted group of people who fled their home countries fearing prosecution, natural disasters or warfare — began in America in 1980. The practice remained in place under former President Donald Trump, and his administration saw the highest number of unaccompanied minors Tennessee received in a single year — 2,191 — in 2019.
Also under the Trump administration, a state-licensed facility was established in Chattanooga in May 2020 to house unaccompanied migrant minors.
Lee has argued the Biden administration secretly sent in unaccompanied minors and was less transparent than the Trump administration.
But Lee’s administration has not provided evidence that no migrant youths were transported to Tennessee under Trump. Lee spokesperson Laine Arnold told The Tennessean the state had “no reason to believe” unaccompanied minors were secretly flown in under Trump.
The Department of Health and Human Services under the Biden administration remains tight-lipped on the refugee issue. It did not respond to The Tennessean’s questions on the flights and the process of resettling migrant youths.