Gov. Brad Little visits with a member of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
BOISE – Idaho Governor Brad Little reaffirmed his commitment to assisting Texas in its efforts to secure the southern border by announcing the deployment of two additional teams of Idaho State Police troopers on Friday. Little made promises during his State of the State and Budget Address earlier this year that he intended to support the state of Texas in their efforts.
Governor Little also issued a proclamation Friday, designating January as “Idaho Stands With Texas in Securing the Nation’s Border Month.” The proclamation underscores Idaho’s unwavering support for Texas in addressing the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently asserted Texas’ constitutional right to defend itself amidst the border crisis, drawing quick support from a coalition of Republican governors aorund the country, including Little.
“We will work even harder to address the open border and its impacts because of the failure of the Biden-Harris administration to admit it’s even a problem,” Gov. Little said in his State of the State speech earlier this month. “Human trafficking is modern day slavery. The cartel and other bad actors are taking advantage of our open border to manipulate and abuse the most vulnerable, including children.”
Under Governor Little’s IDAHO WORKS plan, the two teams of Idaho State Police troopers will receive specialized training to act as a force multiplier and combat the smuggling and abuse of vulnerable individuals.
“They will come back to Idaho with better knowledge to stop these perpetrators in our state,” Gov. Little added, “and, as they did before, our troopers will debrief and train their law enforcement colleagues around the state when they return.”
Idaho’s governor has been actively engaged in multiple efforts to address border security concerns, including:
- In September 2021, he joined a group of governors in requesting a meeting with President Joe Biden to discuss the crisis at the southern border, a request that remained unanswered.
- Following the lack of response, Governor Little and his counterparts proposed ten policy solutions to address the border crisis, which went unanswered as well.
- In 2021, specialized state troopers from Idaho were sent to Arizona to assist with drug interdiction, and Governor Little played a role in the formation of the American Governors’ Border Strike Force.
- Governor Little also joined a lawsuit challenging President Biden’s Title 42 border decision.
- In 2022, he initiated Operation Esto Perpetua to combat drug threats and secured funding for this initiative.
- In May 2023, Governor Little deployed two teams of Idaho State Police troopers to Texas to aid in border security efforts, and they returned to train other law enforcement agencies within the state. He also visited the border himself and held meetings with Gov. Abbot.
- In January 2024 he announced two more teams of troopers will be heading to Texas to focus on assisting with and learning about tactics to deter human trafficking.
Earlier this month Gov. Little joined a statement of support signed by 25 governors, backing Texas’ efforts to defend and protect the nation from the consequences of the open border.
The Idaho troopers will be deployed in their new mission in the coming weeks. It is not immediately known how many will be traveling and from shat parts of Idaho these troopers will be sent from.