SC Gov. McMaster leads GOP governors’ support for Trump deportation promises

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster led a group of GOP governors in a letter of support for incoming President Donald Trump’s promises to deport noncitizens with criminal connections who are living in the United States illegally.

McMaster, in his new role as policy chairman of the Republican Governors Association, led 26 GOP governors in issuing a statement of support Wednesday of President-elect Trump’s pledge to deport “illegal immigrants who pose a threat to the United States’ communities and national security.”

“Republican governors remain fully committed to supporting the Trump Administration’s efforts to deport dangerous criminals, gang members, and terrorists who are in this country illegally,” read the six-paragraph statement jointly signed by the governors, starting with McMaster. “We understand the direct threat these criminal illegal immigrants pose to public safety and our national security, and we will do everything in our power to assist in removing them from our communities.”

McMaster, an unwavering Trump supporter since 2016, and the other GOP governors stated they’d be willing to deploy state law enforcement or state National Guard troops to support the effort.

The GOP letter of support follows Democratic governors and mayors of major cities vowing to fight Trump’s deportation efforts.

But even as they prepare to challenge Trump’s policies, some Democrats governors told the New York Times they’re willing to work with his administration to deport violent criminals and support tighter control of the southern border.

There are about 11 million immigrants living in the United States without authorization, according to national estimates. Most have no criminal record, and some academic research suggests that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born residents, according to reporting by Stateline, an affiliate of the SC Daily Gazette.

Trump’s mass deportation plan could rely on state cooperation

In July, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on its national docket who it had released. Of those, 435,719 were convicted of a crime, either in the United States or abroad, and 226,847 faced pending criminal charges, according to a Sept. 25 letter from ICE deputy director Patrick Lechleitner to Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales.

More than 78,000 of the convictions listed in the letter, or 18%, were for criminal traffic offenses, which ICE says commonly involve hit-and-run or leaving the scene of an accident. Assaults represented the second most-common category of convictions, at 15%, followed by “dangerous drugs,” at 12%. The vast majority of nearly 13,400 noncitizens convicted of killing someone were not in federal custody.

About 15,000 noncitizens with criminal convictions or pending charges remained detained in federal facilities, according to Lechleitner’s letter.

The statement from GOP governors came a day after U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said border security will be Republicans’ top priority when they take control of the chamber next month.

“In many ways, a broken immigration system has created a ticking time bomb for our national security,” Graham said during a Senate Judiciary hearing. Republicans’ immediate funding focus, he said, will include “more bed spaces so you don’t have to release people who shouldn’t be released and more ICE agents to deport people who represent a threat to our country and shouldn’t be here to begin with.”

Other governors to sign the GOP statement: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves , Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon.

There are 27 GOP governors nationwide. Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont was the lone Republican who did not sign the statement.