Fury stated that the donation was made directly by the Willis and Reba Johnsons Foundation to the state. Willis Johnson, a billionaire based in Tennessee, founded an online auction for used cars called Copart. He makes regular large donations to Republicans, including $200,000 for the Trump Victory Committee last Year.Johnson stated that he approached Noem to make a donation after hearing about Texas Governor. Greg Abbott's push for a border barrier. He realized Texas had plenty of money, so he decided that he would help Noem who is a smaller state. He stated that he did not plan to donate money to other states for law enforcement officers at the border.Johnson said that he would prefer to remain anonymous, but Noem's office informed him that they must at least disclose Johnson's name. He refused to disclose how much he gave.Johnson stated that America spent a lot to build the border wall. Private individuals are now required.Noem, a possible presidential candidate, made a distinction between her decision not to send the National Guard and other governors who have sent state police officers.She stated that the border crisis is one of national security and requires the National Guard to provide a sustained response. By sending Highway Patrol or police to help with a long-term issue President Bidens Administration is unable to or unwilling to resolve, we should not make our communities less secure.Reynold Nesiba, Democratic state senator, said that Noem's use of a donor to finance the deployment does not show it is a priority for the state but gives her political cover.He said that this could create a precedent for anonymous political donors to call Governor and dispatch the Guard whenever they wish.The Federal government typically pays for National Guard deployments in other states. According to Duke Doering (South Dakota National Guard Museum historian), troops who respond to an emergency in a state are usually paid using state funds. He stated that he had never heard about a private donor funding a military deployment.Doering stated that this kind of shocks me when you consider a private donor sending Guard.Noem stated that the South Dakota National Guard will deploy for between 30 and 60 days. The other states involved send law enforcement officers for approximately two-week stints.Abbott announced this month plans to increase border security. Abbott's latest push has been criticised as political theater. However, he defends the plan, stating that the number of border crossingers is still high. Although the cost and timeline for the push are not clear, the governor stated that he would use $250 million of state money and crowdsourced funding to build the barriers. The federal government could also challenge it.Arkansas Governor. On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson authorized a 90-day deployment up to 40 National Guard troops across the border. His office stated that the deployment was not being funded by any private donor.Under a national interstate mutual assistance network, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Iowa sent approximately 25 State Patrol officers across the border. The compact requires Texas to reimburse Iowa for state trooper expenses. Iowa, however, will pay the initial costs. In response to a Trump administration request for assistance in October 2020, the Iowa National Guard has 24 soldiers who provide support to law enforcement at border.The Nebraska State Patrol has already sent 25 troopers to Texas. A spokesperson for the patrol said that it has not received any donations from the private sector for the deployment.Numerous migrants have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, and many of them turned themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents seeking legal asylum. However, the number of children and families crossing the border to the U.S. without their parents has dropped dramatically since March and April. Single adults encounters have remained high.
