Gov. Scott Walker is declining to weigh in on the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from parents who are arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I don’t have any jurisdiction over that,” Walker told reporters Monday night. He said it was an issue for “members of Congress, the administration, be it the House and Senate and others. I don’t have a say one way or the other on that.”
Walker said an upcoming border security mission for the Wisconsin Army National Guard is not related to the Trump administration’s policy. The Associated Press reported the governor said “the work they’re doing doesn’t have anything to do with that.”
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He said the Guard’s focus in Arizona is expected to be administrative, and characterized the mission as similar to ones the Guard has carried out under past presidents.
About two dozen Wisconsin Army National Guard troops will take part in the operations in Arizona starting this weekend.
Several states, including New York, North Carolina, Colorado and Massachusetts have declined to send troops to protest the administration’s policy.
The state Democratic Party issued a statement saying that Walker’s position is “an endorsement of a cruel and inhumane policy that goes against Wisconsin values.”
Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg said the policy is a federal one and anyone with concerns about it should contact their federal lawmakers.
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