Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said he will send hundreds of National Guard soldiers to California’s border with Mexico in the coming days as thousands of illegal immigrants enter the state each week.
“California has doubled our National Guard at the border that are working to stop the flow of fentanyl,” Newsom wrote in a post to X while in the San Diego area Thursday afternoon. “While the GOP play games and Mike Johnson searches for his spine — we’re out here doing the work.”
At present, the state has 155 soldiers on the border. The number of deployed soldiers will increase to 392 in the coming days, according to the governor’s office.
But the beefing up of security isn’t for the illegal immigration surge, according to Newsom. Present soldiers will continue to only be assigned to ports of entry where commercial trucks, passenger vehicles, and pedestrians may seek admission.
The large majority of all fentanyl seized at the U.S.-Mexico border each year is found hidden in vehicles and inside body carriers. However, it is not being taken between the ports of entry where migrants cross illegally, according to public data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In fall 2023, Newsom assigned 40 to 60 soldiers each to four ports of entry, including San Ysidro and Otay Mesa.
