Arizona's Ducey Flips, Backs 'Short' U.S.-Mexico Border Closure

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Days after saying he "of course" didn't want to see the U.S.-Mexico border close, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said Wednesday he would support President Donald Trump in closing the border, reports say. The turnaround came after the governor and president met for a discussion about border issues in the White House.

Ducey added he hoped any border closure would be "as short as possible," according to the Arizona Republic. Noting the importance of U.S.-Mexico trade, Ducey said "border security comes first," according to the Republic.

In an interview with reporters outside the White House, Ducey called the border situation a "crisis," a term which President Trump has been using lately.

Ducey said it's both a humanitarian and security crisis, adding an acknowledgment of his support for "a wall, a physical barrier, boots on the ground, technology and surveillance" as security measures.

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See the Gov. Ducey's interview on C-SPAN.

President Trump has floated the idea of shutting down the U.S.-Mexico border in attempts to pressure the Mexican government to quell Central American migrants from reaching the U.S. border. The administration has already announced they are cutting off support to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, three countries where a majority of migrants come from.

"If they don't stop them, we're closing the border," Trump told reporters on Saturday, March 30. "We'll keep it closed for a long time, I'm not playing games."

That threat raised alarms from critics who said shutting the border would mean cutting off trade with the country's third-largest trading partner, trade that was worth $16.7 billion to Arizona last year.

See more on Patch:

• Trump Eases Up On Border Shutdown Threat, But It Still May Happen
• Arizona Businesses, Lawmakers Fear Effects Of Closing The Border