Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth on Sunday joined Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” on set at the infield of the Talladega Superspeedway prior to the GEICO 500, where he touched on Alabama’s efforts to defend the U.S. southern border.
The lieutenant governor detailed how the border crisis impacted Alabamians and spoke to Gov. Kay Ivey’s decision to have the state join the newly formed American Governors’ Border Strike Force, a coordinated effort among states to combat illegal immigration.
“You know, you look at how this impacts Alabama, I’m going to give you a local story,” Ainsworth told co-host Will Cain. “I live in Guntersville, Alabama. I split my time between there and Montgomery, a small town. Just recently last month, we had several teenaged and college kids die from a fentanyl overdose with a drug batch that was tied back to Mexico. So when you look at the amount of drugs that are coming into America, and President Biden’s failed policies, I mean, he hasn’t protected the border. And so at the end of the day, states are having to step up. We’re having to do the job of the federal government.”
He added, “[I] certainly want to commend Governor Ivey, [Texas] Governor [Greg] Abbott and this strike force is just one of the tools we’ve got. We can’t just sit there and let people smuggle people. And we’ve also got the human trafficking side, when you look at that and the fact that that’s now become maybe a bigger business than the drug side. We’ve got a huge problem and we’ve got to solve it.”
Ainsworth outlined the role that Alabama will play in assisting with security operations along the southern border.
“Yeah, I think first we’re going to send boots on the ground,” he advised. “We’re sending people from the Alabama National Guard, we’re sending law enforcement members, we’re going to put people there. I think, you know, making sure we’re actually going to be committed to getting the wall built.”
“[B]ut what’s bad is they’re sending the worst people across, and it’s drug cartels and we’ve got to put a stop to it,” continued Ainsworth. “And so Alabama’s going to continue to step up to the plate and support border states, and continue to send people there.”
According to Ainsworth, states must join forces to defend the border given the Biden administration’s lax immigration policies.
“President Trump said it best, you can’t have a country without borders,” he declared. “We have to have borders. And if the federal government is going to fail, it’s up to states to act. And Alabama and other conservative states, should be all states, right? But we’re going to step up to the plate and make sure we’re going to protect our border. We’re going to send resources, we’re going to send people, we’re going to send money. And we’re going to make sure Governor Abbott has our full support in Alabama to make sure we stop this huge problem.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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