Annapolis, MD - Amid the growing concerns of separating illegal immigrants from their children, Governor Larry Hogan announced Tuesday, June 19 he will not deploy any members of the Maryland National Guard to the U.S./Mexico border.
In a morning Twitter statement, Hogan said, “Until this policy of separating children from their families has been rescinded, Maryland will not deploy any National Guard resources to the border. Earlier this morning, I ordered our four crew members and helicopter to immediately return from where they were stationed in New Mexico.”
Hogan is now the second governor to announce this decision. On Monday, Governor Charlie Baker [R-MA], announced he was against the policy and would not allow Massachusetts National Guard members to serve along the United States southern border.
In recent days, there’s been a huge social media backlash over the separation of children from their parents who are trying to cross into the United States illegally. This decision has left hundreds and thousands of children without their parents. Those kids are now being sent to cities across the country while they wait to be reunited with their families.
On Monday, Hogan tweeted, “Washington has failed again and again to deliver needed immigration reform - Congress and the administration must step up and work together to fix our broken system. Immigration enforcement efforts should focus on criminals, not separating innocent children from their families.”
Attorney Generals from 21 states, including Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, signed a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling the policy “inhumane”. The group also raised questions of whether the children’s rights were being violated.
More than 2,300 hundred children have been taken from their parents after they were arrested for trying to enter the states illegally over the past six weeks.