Politics

The Arkansas National Guard went to southern Texas to help the National Guard there, secure the Southern Border. When Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders deployed the guard last month, she said they would combat illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. About 40 guardsmen were sent from April 1 until May 30. 40/29 News talked to a member of the Arkansas National Guard who was deployed there. Lt. Cln. Brian Bahr is stationed in Del Rio, Texas. He said most of the Arkansas Guard is in Eagle Pass. Bahr was also deployed to the border in July 2023. “We were actually at Shelby Park at that time,” Bahr said. “We had over 5500 illegal immigrants come across from 23 different countries. Now we’re currently located at nine points of crossing. And those numbers that we’ve seen are down from those numbers.”Even though Bahr said the guardsmen aren’t allowed to physically engage with people trying to cross illegally, they are making a difference. “They do talk to them and try to persuade them to go back across the border,” Bahr said. “We’re actually having an impact with the deterrence portion as kind of a cat and mouse game. They don’t want to come in contact with us.”Bahr said he hasn’t heard firsthand why immigrants are trying to cross into the U.S. but he said, “A lot of times the illegal immigrants are looking for a better life. And, of course, America is that beacon for a lot of individuals.”One Northwest Arkansas immigration advocate said she agrees that most immigrants are trying to enter the U.S. to find better opportunities. That being said, there are still people arriving in Arkansas as part of human and labor trafficking rings. “It’s not an easy issue,” said Mireya Reith, Executive Director of Arkansas United. “They may be related to folks who one would think might have the best intentions. But again, they’re facing a difficult situation as themselves. Their families are being threatened back home.””Unfortunately we fear that spending money that is just about the immediate: sending people to the borders, militarizing our borders only helps human traffickers,” Reith said.Reith said the action at the border forces traffickers to go further into hiding and makes them harder to catch while making it more difficult for legal migrants to cross. “It means we have to work that much harder on the relationship building with the community,” Reith said. “We need to have a conversation on immigration, and we hope that we can continue to center it around positive things that we can do here in Arkansas.”You can watch 40/29 News On the Record every Sunday morning at 10:30.