Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Wednesday that the Arkansas National Guard will assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in immigration enforcement under the Title 32 Program.
Sanders said up to 40 Guardsmen will provide logistical and administrative support at locations in Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville and Camp Robinson. The mission, requested by the Department of Homeland Security and approved by the Department of Defense, will be federally funded.
The Guardsmen will not be armed but will help transport and process detainees, perform clerical work, and support ICE agents. Sanders tied the deployment to her recently signed Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, which increases penalties for crimes committed by immigrants without legal status and expands the state’s sanctuary city ban.
Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges, the state’s adjutant general, said Guardsmen are “highly trained and committed to enabling federal agents to focus on their core operations.”
This marks another step in Arkansas’ alignment with federal immigration enforcement, following past deployments of state troops to the southern border in Texas.
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