Abbott sends state troops to U.S.-Mexico border to work with Border Patrol

Gov. Abbott speaks to DPS Troopers and National Guard troops at a Thanksgiving dinner event in Edinburg on Nov. 26, 2024. (Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune)

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Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday said he's sending more than 400 soldiers from Houston and Fort Worth to the U.S.-Mexico border to collaborate with Border Patrol agents "to stop illegal immigrants from entering our country and to enforce immigration laws."

Abbott said he will also send C-130s, an aircraft that can take off and land on rough terrain, and Chinook helicopters. The troops, part of a unit called the Texas Tactical Border Force, will join those already deployed to the border through the state's border security mission, Operation Lone Star, that Abbott started in 2021 in response to the Biden administration's immigration policies.

Through Operation Lone Star, the state has deployed thousands of state National Guard troops to the border, though it is not clear how many are actively deployed. The Trump administration last week also sent 1,500 active duty U.S. soldiers to the border.

"Texas has a partner in the White House we can work with to secure the Texas-Mexico border," Abbott said in a statement. "I thank President Donald Trump for his decisive leadership on the southern border and look forward to working with him and his Administration to secure the border and make America safe again.”

The move is the state’s latest effort to help the Trump administration with its immigration crackdown. Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has offered the administration a Starr County ranch to be used as a staging area for mass deportations — which an administration official previously accepted.