These are the states where the National Guard is assisting ICE agents
On Tuesday this week, another U.S. state announced the deployment of National Guard troops to aid ICE’s immigration crackdown.
Iowa this week became the latest U.S. state to enlist members of the National Guard to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The news comes amid a nationwide crackdown on immigration under President Donald Trump’s second White House administration.
“Twenty Iowa National Guard soldiers will provide administrative and logistical support to Iowa-based ICE officials in enforcing immigration laws,” the office of Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said in a statement on Tuesday.
How many states have deployed National Guard to help ICE?
Per a Newsweek tally, six Republican-led states have so far mobilized, or approved plans to mobilize, National Guard troops to aid ICE efforts:
- Florida
- Idaho
- Iowa
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Three more GOP-run states - Nevada, Louisiana and South Carolina - are currently in the process of rubber-stamping the activation of the Guard.
Trump admin gives Guard go-ahead in GOP states
At the end of July, the Trump administration authorized the deployment of National Guard troops to ICE facilities in 20 states with Republican governors.
Per a memo seen by the New York Times, the Guard can be deployed to help ICE officials with the processing of paperwork related to the detention of immigrants.
The other U.S. states in which the federal government has greenlit the call-up of National Guard troops are: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming.
In late July, Vermont Governor Phil Scott said his state would not be activating the Guard to assist ICE agents.
Detentions and deportations soar under Trump
Since Trump took office as U.S. president in January, ICE agents have carried out regular immigration raids in locations across the country.
According to an NBC News tracker, there were over 56,500 migrants in ICE detention as of August 1, while monthly deportations had risen to around 18,000 as of June.
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