Governor Stitt Joins Border Security Press Conference with Governors Abbott, Pillen, Reynolds, and Noem

Yesterday, Governor Kevin Stitt joined Texas Governor Greg Abbot’s press conference in Eagle Pass, TX along with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to provide an update on their joint efforts in responding to President Biden's border crisis.

"The chaotic scenes at the southern border are a stark reminder of the consequences of disastrous open border policies," said Governor Stitt. "The Biden administration is asleep at the wheel. Make no mistake, every state has become a border state, but I’m encouraged by my fellow Republican governors who are stepping up to secure the border. It is essential that we protect our communities by supporting our law enforcement and putting a stop to the flow of illegal drugs pouring into our nation."

The Governors were also joined at the press conference by Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw, Texas Adjutant General Major General Thomas Suelzer, and Texas Border Czar Mike Banks.

"These Governors here with me today are deploying military and law enforcement officers to help Texas secure the border," said Governor Abbott. "We have 14 Governors who are deploying personnel to secure the border that President Biden has abandoned. President Biden is not doing his job, and he is responsible for the largest amount of illegal immigration in the history of the United States and has rolled out a deadly welcome mat with a record number of people dying attempting to cross the border. There is a reason the United Nations has named the border between the United States and Mexico the deadliest land border in the entire world. President Biden is responsible for that deadly border, and we're not going to stand idly by. We, as states, share an obligation and that's to step up and address this unparalleled catastrophe caused by President Biden."

Prior to the press conference, Governor Stitt visited the Oklahoma National Guard troops in El Paso before joining Governor Abbott for a border security briefing where they received updates from Director McCraw, Major General Suelzer, and Border Czar Banks on the multitude of effective strategies used by Operation Lone Star to secure the border, including Texas' floating marine barriers installed in the Rio Grande River.

Director McCraw outlined the success of Operation Lone Star's border security efforts, noting that just DPS alone has seized over 426 million lethal doses of deadly fentanyl—enough to kill every man, woman, and child in America. He also highlighted the importance of state law enforcement along the border, pointing to their critical role in supporting Border Patrol agents as the first line of defense against surges of illegal immigration between ports of entry.

Oklahoma joins 13 other states, including Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, in supporting Texas' efforts and deployed personnel and resources to secure the southern border.

Governor Stitt joined Fox and Friends and Varney & Co. to discuss his visit to the border. View those interviews here and here.