Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) announced on Monday he authorized National Guard troops to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel in the Peach State. 

A string of states have committed National Guard resources to help ICE with administrative and logistical functions in order for federal immigration agents to be further utilized in field operations targeting illegal immigrants. 

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Kemp this week revealed Georgia would join the effort, saying 75 National Guard troops would undergo training in mid-September, “and should be on duty shortly thereafter” to work at ICE facilities in Georgia. The governor’s announcement comes after ICE arrests have already surged by 367% in the state this year, with 4,500 illegal immigrants arrested in the state between January 20 and July 31.

The Georgia deployment is part of a nationwide plan announced by the Trump administration over the weekend, in which at least 19 different states are authorizing around 1,700 troops to support ICE.

In Georgia, troops will perform tasks such as appointment scheduling, biometric collection, data entry, performing basic vehicle maintenance, and tracking vehicle fleet expenses/utilization in order to free up ICE agents to make arrests and carry out more direct enforcement functions. 

The National Guard soldiers and airmen will report directly to ICE leadership but remain under the control of the governor and the adjutant general of Georgia. Troops facilitating ICE in Georgia and other states are transitioning from Title 10 to Title 32 status, meaning they are under state control, but their duties are federally funded and regulated.

The troops being authorized across 19 states will be a “force multiplier” for ICE and help with duties that include transportation and intelligence, but not arrests, said “border czar” Tom Homan, who oversees immigration matters for President Donald Trump. 

“ICE is overwhelmed. ICE has less than 5,000 deportation officers. We’ve got well over 20 million illegal aliens,” Homan said during a recent NewsNation interview. “We’ve got almost 700,000 illegal aliens with criminal history that we’re trying to find.”

In addition to Georgia, National Guard troops are expected to be deployed to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. 

Critics have decried the unusual step of requesting federal troops to carry out ICE duties as a breach of authority. 

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“As a retired naval officer, it goes against my core values and principles to use Georgia’s National Guard for purposes beyond its lawful duties,” said state Rep. Derrick Jackson, a Democrat campaigning to succeed the term-limited Kemp as governor.

“I believe the brave men and women in uniform did not take an oath to use force against our citizens in the United States,” he added in a statement to Rough Draft Atlanta. “Let me be crystal clear: the purpose of the Georgia National Guard is to defend against foreign threats and aid in natural disasters.”