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Braun ends Indiana National Guard deployment at southern U.S. border

Mike Braun is a White man, balding with dark gray hair. He is wearing glasses and a suit and tie.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Gov. Mike Braun ended a deployment of Indiana National Guard members to the southern U.S. border that stretched back to March 2024.

Gov. Mike Braun is withdrawing about 50 Indiana National Guard members from the southern U.S. border, ending a deployment that goes back to early 2024.

Former Gov. Eric Holcomb sent members of the guard to the border last year as part of an ongoing showdown between the state of Texas and the federal government over the flow of migrants into the country.

While it wasn’t the first time the Indiana National Guard was deployed to the region, previous missions had been led by the federal government.

In a statement, Braun said that the Trump administration’s focus on managing the border was the reason he was withdrawing Indiana’s guard members. They will return to Indiana within the next two months.

READ MORE: Troops arrive at the border to help with enforcement despite fewer migrant crossings

Migrant crossings at the southern U.S. border declined dramatically in 2024 after hitting a record high in December 2023. They’ve continued to decline since President Donald Trump took office.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.