PHEONIX, Ariz. (KGUN) — Arizona will soon have a new joint task force dedicated to expanding border security operations in Yuma, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise counties.
The task force will include members of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Arizona Department of Homeland Security.
Dubbed Operation Desert Guardian, the task force will work with local law enforcement and the federal government to disrupt criminal activity along the border, according to a news release sent from the office of Gov. Hobbs.
The news release said some of the objectives include identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities along the border and combating border-related crimes committed by criminal organizations by dismantling supply chains and operating networks.
The news release said the task force will be funded "by leveraging a portion of the $28 million balance in the state's border security fund. "
It will build off of the efforts of Task Force SAFE, a joint operation between the Arizona National Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which aims to stop drugs at Arizona's ports of entry, the news release said.
