WATCH: Will SC National Guard be sent to DC? See what Gov. McMaster had to say

by WIS News 10 Staff

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster addressed recent questions surrounding the state National Guard’s role in federal law enforcement efforts.

The governor said Monday that President Donald Trump hasn’t asked for South Carolina National Guard members to be sent to Washington, D.C., over what the president described as a crime emergency.

“The president hasn’t asked,” McMaster said. “Of course, we in the southern states, particularly South Carolina, we’re right in the middle of hurricane season. So that’s [our] number one priority.

The governor also commented on Trump’s federalization of Washington, D.C.’s police force, calling it “something that should have been done a long time ago.”

“If you’ve been up there lately, you’ve seen the mess,” said McMaster. “And I think he [Trump] mentioned that he was thinking of doing this some months ago. And if you’ve been up lately, you know it’s unsafe, it’s unclean, it’s dirty, it’s loud, it’s raucous, it’s dangerous.”

Regarding immigration enforcement, McMaster said the guard has sent troops to the border dating back nearly a decade. He added that the state intends to keep working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and that some agents have been certified as part of the recently enacted 287(g) program.

“We have a fusion center,” he said. “A lot of states don’t have that. Where all law enforcement works together, including Homeland Security. We’ve had an agent there for some time.”

McMaster also notably serves as the Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Committee, and said South Carolina “is going to do her part in seeing that our people are secure.”

You can watch the governor’s full comments in the video above this story.

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