TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas National Guard announced Monday that they will be sending soldiers and airmen to the United States southern border.
This comes after the Defense Department on Monday announced it was sending 5,200 active duty troops to “harden” the southern border against a migrant caravan making its way through Mexico.
“This assignment will be an important one for those who are selected, and we send them on this mission with the full support of our state,” Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer said in a statement Monday.
The guardsmen will be sent to Arizona to work with the Arizona National Guard currently supporting Customs Border Patrol Southwest Border Operations.
The exact duties that the Kansas Guardsmen will be assigned to perform are not known at this time.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump has been trying to focus on the caravan just a week before the midterm elections.
The migrant caravan has been moving slowly north from Central America and its numbers have been dwindling.
The Associated Press contributed to this article