Kari Lake slams Arizona GOP Gov. Ducey, demands he declare border invasion

Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake on Monday criticized Gov. Doug Ducey (R-Ariz.) for not doing enough to secure the southern border, demanding he declare an invasion and use constitutional powers to protect the state’s citizens.

Lake explained during an interview on the "Just the News, Not Noise" TV show Monday what she believes must be done in the short-term to secure Arizona's border with Mexico, as the number of terrorists and drugs crossing the southern border continues to increase. 

"[W]e need our current governor to do more," Lake said. "I think he should immediately declare an invasion – that will get the ball rolling – state war powers, basically. We take over control of the situation and we need to start constructing that wall. Push back against this illegitimate president. 

"Why are we sitting here like sitting ducks while we cede control of our southern border in Arizona to the cartels?”she asked. “We need our governor to do something. I know he's a lame-duck governor, he's on his last, you know, months of being governor and it's a big job to tackle the border, but he's got to do it. We need to stand up."

Last month, a record number of nearly 240,000 illegal migrants were encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the southern border.

Also during May, Border Patrol apprehended 15 people who were on the FBI's terrorist watchlist, the largest number ever in a single month. I 

Lake, who received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, has previously said that if she's elected governor, she will declare that her state is under invasion on her first day in office and send the state's National Guard to the border. 

Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued an opinion earlier this year saying that the border crisis meets the definition of an invasion and states are constitutionally empowered to defend themselves.