Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (front right) speaks in March 2021 at the Arizona border alongside Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott.

Gov. Doug Ducey said he is sending the Arizona National Guard to the border.

Citing more than 170,000 apprehensions at the Southwest border last month, Ducey said the Border Patrol is overwhelmed while local law enforcement, mayors and nonprofit businesses are calling out for help.

In a pre-recorded video address released Tuesday, Ducey offered sharp criticism for President Joe Biden, saying he hasn’t provided an adequate response and can’t agree whether it is a “crisis” or not.

“I said last month that the Biden Administration is totally divorced from reality. Now at times it seems like they fully understand the reality while at others they are putting their heads in the sand and trying to ignore it anyway,” he said.

Ducey will be in Yuma County Wednesday, “to talk with community leaders and law enforcement officials about what they are seeing on the ground.”

In a separate release, Ducey stated, "Under the leadership of the newly appointed Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs Brigadier General Kerry L. Muehlenbeck, up to 250 Guardsmen will go to border communities and will be available to support other law enforcement agencies, like state troopers. The Arizona National Guard will:

• Assist with medical operations in detention centers;
• Install and maintaining border cameras;
• Monitor and collect data from public safety cameras; and
• Analyze satellite imagery for current trends in smuggling corridors."

Yvette Borja, border litigation attorney for the ACLU of Arizona, released this statement:

"Today's announcement is the latest in Governor Ducey's political ploy to depict a border 'crisis' when there is none," said Borja. "Let's be clear:  The Governor's actions do nothing more than further militarize our border communities and stoke unnecessary and unjustified fear."

Borja continued, "Under the Trump administration's cruel policies, our nation's asylum system was decimated creating a humanitarian crisis and endangering lives while violating people's right to seek safety in the U.S. If Governor Ducey really cared about the situation at the border, he would join the calls to restore asylum and to end deportations under Title 42."