Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday ordered National Guard troops to assist federal immigration agents in a series of raids across the state.
Governor Sanders said the Arkansas National Guard will assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the federal Title 32 program, providing up to 40 unarmed personnel to support detainee transport, processing and clerical tasks across four Arkansas locations.
She said in a press release: “I look forward to our guardsmen working with the Trump Administration to enforce federal immigration law.”
Why It Matters
The move places Arkansas among several Republican-led states that have agreed to mobilize Guard personnel to aid federal immigration enforcement, a step that highlights ongoing national disputes about the domestic use of the National Guard and the federal-state balance in immigration policy. National debate over such Guard deployments has included legal challenges in other states and public objections from Democratic governors.
President Donald Trump has already sent the National Guard to cities, including Los Angeles, as confrontations between immigration agents and protesters have intensified.
Advocates say Guard support frees federal agents to focus on core enforcement tasks. But critics and some legal experts warn about using military forces in domestic policing roles and the risk of politicizing state military forces. Governors have been split along partisan lines over similar deployments.
What To Know
Governor Sanders’ office said Arkansas will provide 40 Guardsmen in total: 27 Air National Guard airmen and 13 Army National Guard soldiers.
Eighteen guardsmen will be assigned to Little Rock, ten to Fort Smith, ten to Fayetteville, and two at Camp Robinson for command and control support. They will not be armed and will focus on logistics, including transporting detainees, assisting ICE agents during transfers, and handling clerical processing.
The guard members will operate under Title 32 status and remain under state control while the federal government funds the mission.
The governor’s release said the Department of Homeland Security issued a formal Request for Assistance to the Department of Defense on May 9, 2025, and that DOD approved support contingent on governors’ permission on July 25.
Sanders framed the deployment as part of her broader effort to crack down on illegal immigration. Earlier this year, she signed the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, which increased penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes in Arkansas, expanded the state’s sanctuary city ban to include unincorporated areas, and mandated law enforcement participation in the federal 287(g) program.
Sanders has also repeatedly sent guardsmen to the southern border and joined other Republican governors in criticizing what she calls the Biden administration’s failure to secure it.
The announcement comes as immigration enforcement remains a central focus of President Donald Trump’s second term. In February, the first full month of Trump’s presidency, illegal border crossings fell to 8,300—a 94 percent drop from a year earlier, according to federal figures. Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border on his first day back in office.
What People Are Saying
Governor Sanders said: “Violent, criminal illegal immigrants have no place in Arkansas. I signed the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act to hold these criminals accountable and slap enhanced penalties on illegal immigrants who commit additional crimes while in our state, and I look forward to our guardsmen working with the Trump Administration to enforce federal immigration law. President Trump has secured our border and is cleaning up our streets, and Arkansas stands with him every step of the way.”
Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges, Arkansas’ adjutant general, said: “The Arkansas National Guard stands ready to support this mission by providing requested administrative and logistical assistance to the Department of Homeland Security, Our Guardsmen are highly trained and committed to enabling federal agents to focus on their core operations.”
What Happens Next
The governor’s office did not provide an exact start date for the Arkansas mission.
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