SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump’s plan to send up to 4,000 National Guard members to the Mexico border to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking (all times local):
1:50 p.m.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson sent National Guard units to the Mexican border in 2010 to combat drugs and violence, but the Democrat says President Donald Trump’s pledge to send troops for immigration control is a “terrible idea.”
Richardson told The Associated Press Friday that he had used troops in a targeted manner and at a time of emergency, versus what he described as Trump’s politically-based motivations meant to boost support for the Republican’s proposed border wall.
Richardson says the deployment he ordered as governor involved a small number of troops and lasted “just for a few days.”
News reports at the time said Richardson deployed 82 members of the New Mexico National Guard for what was scheduled to be a 10-month deployment.
Richardson says the move was effective in restoring calm along the U.S.-Mexican border and that he had worked with his counterpart at the time in the Mexican state of Chihuahua as part of a cross-border partnership aimed against drug violence.
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1:40 p.m.
New Hampshire has not been contacted regarding President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to the Mexican border and the governor’s office isn’t saying whether the state’s troops would be deployed if requested.
The plan has drawn resistance from several Democratic governors but only one Republican governor.
A spokesman for Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, said Friday sending troops will depend “on the details of the specific request.”
Trump wants to send up to 4,000 Guard members to the border to help federal officials fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
The White House is moving forward with the plan but provided no timeline for deployment. The Republican governors of border states Arizona, New Mexico and Texas back the deployment.
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1:30 p.m.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s spokeswoman says the state “stands ready to support our nation” if asked to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he wants to send up to 4,000 Guard members to the border to help federal officials fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg said Friday that while “no mission has been brought to the State of Wisconsin at this time,” Wisconsin stands ready “if called.”
Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops has drawn resistance from some governors, most of them Democrats.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin sent Walker a letter urging him not to send troops if asked, calling Trump’s plan “grossly irresponsible” and would politicize their service.
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1:15 p.m.
The White House says it will continue to move forward with plans to deploy National Guard troops on the southwest border in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas even if California refuses to cooperate.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sander tells reporters that regardless of what California decides “we’ll continue moving forward with the other border states.”
California has yet to respond to the plan Trump announced this week. Gov. Jerry Brown’s office has referred repeated requests for comment to the California National Guard, which says it needs more information to weigh in.
Sanders says the administration is working with California and hopes they’ll “do the right thing and help protect our borders.”
She also says the administration hopes the Guardsman will be in place “as soon as possible,” but that the timeline is to be determined.
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12:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to the Mexican border has drawn resistance from several Democratic governors and Nevada’s Republican governor.
But a growing number of Republican leaders said Friday that they back Trump’s plans. Opponents may not be able to prevent the president from calling on their state National Guard troops if Trump employs a federal law.
The so-called “Title 10 duty status” allows Trump to assert federal control over state guard units even if the governors of those states object.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, said she will not send troops to the Mexico border if asked, but her spokesman Bryan Hockaday said that Trump could assert federal control over the state’s Guard members.
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12:30 p.m.
Mississippi Republican Gov. Phil Bryant says he “fully supports” President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to patrol the U.S.-Mexican border.
Bryant said Friday in a statement that Mississippi’s National Guard “will stand ready to receive the president’s orders.”
Mississippi National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Christian Patterson says about 3,500 Mississippi soldiers are now training in Texas for deployment later this year to the Middle East.
Patterson says he can’t immediately say how many of remaining members of the 12,500-member force might be suited to border deployment.
As of Friday afternoon, Patterson says the state has not received orders to send troops to the border.
Patterson says individual guard members have been deployed to patrol the border in the past, but says Mississippi never has had a “large presence.”
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11:20 a.m.
Alabama’s governor says she’ll work with military leaders to determine whether her state’s National Guard has spare troops to send to the Mexican border if requested by the White House.
President Donald Trump wants to send as many as 4,000 Guard members to the border.
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey says she will consult with the head of the Alabama Guard to see what resources are available.
A statement issued Friday by Ivey’s office cites the need not to impede Guard missions in the state.
It also quotes Ivey as saying: “Alabama has a long history of supporting our military and supporting our country in times of need.”
Trump carried Alabama easily in the 2016 presidential election and remains very popular in the heavily Republican state.
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10:30 a.m.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is the latest governor to oppose President Donald Trump’s proposal to send thousands of National Guard members to the Mexico border to help fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
Sandoval’s spokeswoman, Mary-Sarah Kinner, said Friday in an email to The Associated Press that the Trump administration has not contacted the Republican governor’s office about the idea.
She says Sandoval doesn’t believe the current proposal would be “an appropriate use” of the Nevada Guard.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, both Democrats, also said this week that they would say no to requests for troops from their national guards.
Trump wants to send up to 4,000 Guard members to the border.
The Republican governors of border states Arizona, New Mexico and Texas back the deployment.
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8 a.m.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says he will send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border if asked.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he wants to send up to 4,000 Guard members to the border to help federal officials fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
The Republican Burgum said in a statement from his office Friday that governors of states along the border with Mexico are in the best position to say whether Guard troops are needed.
But he says North Dakota supports those states and will help if asked.
The North Dakota Guard provided air, ground and engineering support along the Mexico border under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
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