Idaho Governor Brad Little is sending state troopers to the US-Mexico border to crack down on drug trafficking

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – For the fourth time, Idaho Gov. Brad Little has sent state troops to the U.S. border with Mexico to crack down on drug traffickers.

The Idaho State Police’s 13 officers are tasked with “dismantling local, state and international drug trafficking organizations” through mid-December, according to a news release Monday. The troopers who left Sunday will be working with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“Law enforcement agencies are seizing record amounts of fentanyl, meth and other dangerous drugs,” Little said in the release. “In too many cases, these illegal activities can be traced directly to cartels and other bad actors exploiting our lawless southern border. The soldiers we send to Texas come back with better knowledge to stop these perpetrators in our state.”

Since 2021, Little has been sending state troopers to the border, first to Arizona and then to Texas. That 21-day trip cost more than $53,000, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. The governor also visited the border in Texas in 2023 along with other Republican governors.

Encounters between federal agents and migrants at the border have fallen by nearly two-thirds in recent months from a peak in December 2023, according to government data.