Gov. Brad Little announced Monday he has sent Idaho State Police troopers to Texas, according to a press release. This is the fourth time ISP has been deployed at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“In Idaho and across the country, reports of human trafficking are on the rise,” Little said in the release. “Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are seizing record amounts of fentanyl, meth, and other dangerous drugs. In too many cases, this illegal activity can be traced right back to cartels and other bad actors taking advantage of our lawless southern border.”

The 13 troopers sent are part of the ISP Domestic Highway Enforcement team, a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force to identify, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations. The troopers left Sunday and will be deployed until mid-December.

The release states the troopers will assist the Texas Department of Public Safety in intercepting drug and human traffickers, learning the “latest tactics being used by Mexico drug cartels to smuggle drugs, weapons, and people into America.”

“The troopers we deploy to Texas come back with better knowledge to stop these perpetrators in our state,” Little said in the release. “As they have done before, our troopers will debrief and train their law enforcement colleagues around the state so we can protect Idahoans from these deadly, dangerous threats.”

This follows actions by Little since 2021 addressing a southern border “crisis.” Little has claimed Idaho faces a drug threat from the border and has often criticized the Biden administration.

In 2021, Little sent specialized ISP troopers to Arizona to assist with drug interdiction. In May of 2023, Little sent two teams of Idaho State Police troopers to the Texas border to assist in efforts to “secure the border.” In April of 2024, Little sent another two teams of state troopers to Texas to assist with and learn tactics to deter human trafficking.

Little is also a member of the American Governors’ Border Strike Force and created “Operation Esto Perpetua.” The state initiative made a new citizen’s action group to combat drug trafficking and human trafficking, according to the governor’s office.

The Legislature approved $250,000 for Operation Esto Perpetua and directed another $1 million to purchase additional roadside testing equipment and start a new media campaign to educate the public about the dangers of fentanyl, according to a 2022 press release.

Former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied that Mexico produced or consumed fentanyl. In 2023, he called it a problem of U.S. “social decay,” according to reporting by the Associated Press.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump recently threatened a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico if the country doesn’t stop drug trafficking and illegal immigration across the border.

Current Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she was willing to engage in talks on the issues, but said the flow of drugs across the border “is a problem of public health and consumption in your country’s society,” according to reporting by the Associated Press.

While much of the fentanyl in the U.S. is from Mexico, a 2023 report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission indicated 86.4% of people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking were American citizens.