PA Won't Send National Guard To Border Due To Family Separation

Pennsylvania will not deploy the state's National Guard resources to the southern border until the current policy of separating children from their parents ceases, Governor Tom Wolf announced this week. The gesture is "largely symbolic but politically significant," according to the Associated Press.

"While Pennsylvania proudly sent troops to help Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico in the last year to assist with disaster relief and Governor Wolf believes we need to protect our borders from real threats, he opposes state resources being used to further President Trump's policy of separating young children from their parents," the governor said through a statement from his press secretary on Wednesday morning.

Wolf joined governors of both parties in several East Coast states in rejecting the policy that has caused a public outcry in recent weeks, after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on April 6 ordered prosecutors to immediately adopt a zero-tolerance policy for illegal border crossings.

On its website, in a segment last updated on June 15, U.S. Customs and Border Protection explains that families crossing the border together will be separated. Children as young as babies and toddlers are included in the policy, and are being sent to "tender age" shelters, the Associated Press reported.

The Trump Administration has said the Democrats are responsible for the policy, citing a 1997 court settlement and a 2008 law as loopholes that mandate the practice. However, neither actually mandate family separation, The New York Times, NPR, and several news outlets have reported in numerous fact-checking articles.

Governors of both sides of the aisle have joined Wolf in taking action by refusing resources that they say would further the practice.

Maryland's Republican Governor Larry Hogan Republican announced Tuesday he had ordered that state's National Guard resources to return from the border.

Democratic Delaware Governor John Carney said Tuesday he rejected a request to send National Guard resources to the border. "Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t hesitate to answer the call. But given what we know about the policies currently in effect at the border, I can’t in good conscience send Delawareans to help with that mission," Carney said via Twitter.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order on Tuesday to prohibit any state resources from being used to assist in the Trump administration's policy of detaining immigrant parents and separating them from their children.

The actions have been described as symbolic and political, and will likely not stop the practice from continuing.

Pennsylvania currently doesn't have any National Guard personnel on the southern border, press secretary J.J. Abbott confirmed to Patch Wednesday morning. "Pennsylvania currently has no National Guard on the border and no requests to send any troops at this time. As Commander of the PA National Guard, Governor Wolf would consult the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania on any request."

In recent days, the public tenor surrounding the policy has reached a fever pitch, with the release of emotional audio from the border of families in the process of being separated. The outcry has prompted several Pennsylvania lawmakers to issue positions on the policy, which Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania called "straight from the pit of hell."

Pat Toomey, a Republican, was less explicit, but said "Congress should act."

Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who represents Bucks County, called the practice "heartless and inhumane."

"This extreme measure must end," Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

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