<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Segoe UI";
panose-1:2 11 5 2 4 2 4 2 2 3;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:8.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:106%;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
p.paragraph, li.paragraph, div.paragraph
{mso-style-name:paragraph;
margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.eop
{mso-style-name:eop;}
span.normaltextrun
{mso-style-name:normaltextrun;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="eop"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><img width="624" height="147" style="width:6.5in;height:1.5312in" id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image001.png@01D853F6.E4D27E50" alt="Graphical user interface, text
Description automatically generated"></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<br>
</span></span><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<span class="eop"> </span></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">April 19, 2022</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="normaltextrun"><b><u><span style="font-size:20.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">26 Governors announce creation of American Governors' Border Strike
Force</span></u></b></span><b><u><span style="font-size:20.0pt;line-height:106%"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little and 25 other governors announced the creation of the American Governors' Border Strike Force today, a multi-state partnership designed to disrupt and dismantle the
transnational criminal organizations taking advantage of the open border with Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">“</span><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">Meth and fentanyl are the most serious and growing drug threats in Idaho, and there is a direct tie to the loose border with Mexico.
Border security is interconnected with the health and safety of American citizens. The Biden Administration has refused to address the crisis at the border, so once again America’s governors are stepping up,” Governor Little said.</span><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<br>
The new strike force targets cartels and criminal organizations operationally and financially by increasing collaboration, improving intelligence, investing in analysis, combating human smuggling, and stopping drug flow among each of the participating states.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#202020"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#202020">View the Governors’ memorandum here:
<a href="https://gov.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/american-governors-border-strike-force.pdf">
https://gov.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/american-governors-border-strike-force.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#202020"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#202020">President Joe Biden’s immigration policies and the lack of adequate federal resources have caused an unprecedented increase in criminal operations along the southern border and in communities across
the country. Every state is a border state dealing with the impacts of illegal immigration.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#202020"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#202020">America’s governors have repeatedly stepped up to fill the void with state National Guard and state law enforcement reinforcements in Texas and Arizona. Governor Little sent a
<a href="https://gov.idaho.gov/pressrelease/gov-little-details-his-plan-to-help-secure-u-s-mexico-border-and-protect-idahoans/">
team of specialized state troopers</a> to Arizona in 2021 to assist with drug interdiction, and he joined Governors in requesting a meeting with President Biden to
<a href="https://gov.idaho.gov/pressrelease/governors-detail-their-policy-solutions-to-alleviate-border-crisis/">
offer 10 policy solutions</a> that could immediately relieve the crisis at the border.<br>
<br>
Signatories to the memorandum include: Brad Little (ID), Governors Doug Ducey (AZ), Greg Abbott (TX), Kay Ivey (AL), Mike Dunleavy (AK), Asa Hutchinson (AR), Ron DeSantis (FL), Brian Kemp (GA), Eric Holcomb (IN), Kim Reynolds (IA), Larry Hogan (MD), Tate Reeves
(MS), Mike Parson (MO), Greg Gianforte (MT), Pete Ricketts (NE), Chris Sununu (NH), Doug Burgum (ND), Mike DeWine (OH), Kevin Stitt (OK), Henry McMaster (SC), Kristi Noem (SD), Bill Lee (TN), Spencer Cox (UT), Glenn Youngkin (VA), Jim Justice (WV), and Mark
Gordon (WY).<br>
<br>
</span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;text-align:center;line-height:normal;background:white">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"># # # </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: Marissa Morrison Hyer, Press Secretary </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">208-943-1686 or </span></span><span style="color:black"><a href="mailto:marissa.morrison@gov.idaho.gov" target="_blank"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#0563C1;text-decoration:none">marissa.morrison@gov.idaho.gov</span></span></a></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">-- </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span style="color:black"><a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001jPcDrZTUF2iffZAaFR5CaCO9D9OTNmcIrS9m2JnRBQLxSmCCDvAfzkhQC6WRNcW4O6931CUyPvAzTSP21AiJ4rioUvabaHbWJxzuwF2hEYM%3D#_blank" target="_blank"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#0563C1;text-decoration:none">Sign
up to receive news from Governor Little</span></i></span></a></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">Reply to this e-mail to unsubscribe</span></i></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>