STATEWIDE — Indiana is joining 18 other states in deploying National Guard members to support federal immigration officers.

White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed the news Saturday. He said 1,700 Guard members will assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with duties relating to transportation and intelligence, helping ICE officers, who Homan said are overwhelmed.

“ICE has fewer than 5,000 deportation officers,” said Homan. “We have more than 20 million illegal aliens and we’re trying to locate almost 700,000 with criminal histories.”

According to a spokesperson with the Defense Department, troops will deploy to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virgini

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