South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has sent four South Dakota National Guard troops to the United States' southern border with Mexico.

The four-soldier aviation crew is being sent with a UH-72 helicopter to Arizona to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection security operations, Noem announced during her State of the State address on Tuesday.

"We must do what we can to help secure the southern border," she said.

Noem also noted the importance of border security when she talked about the state's meth epidemic.

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"Meth is rarely made in South Dakota anymore," she said, adding: "Our meth epidemic is the price we are paying for our nation's failure to adequately secure our southern border."

Noem's address was just a few hours before President Trump was expected to address the nation about immigration and the need for a border wall.

Senate Minority Leader Troy Heinert said he was surprised to learn during Noem's speech that she had approved the deployment of the helicopter crew. He said he wants to see "smart border security," but border security "has become almost too political" right now.

"If we've sent National Guard troops down there, we pray for their safety and hope they can get home to their families as soon as they can, but I think those are some conversations that we need to have," Heinert said.

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