Dathan Trevino TEXAS – Border tensions rose last month as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged 1,000 additional troops from the Florida National Guard to assist Gov. Greg Abbott with what Abbott has dubbed the “immigration invasion.”
The troops are being sent as a part of Abbott’s Operation Lonestar, a plan launched in 2021 using Texas National Guards and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to defend the southern border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that at least 2.4 million people entered the U.S. illegally last year, marking an increase from 2022.
Since Operation Lonestar three years ago, troops have placed concertina wire across the border injuring anyone illegally immigrating.
Disagreeing with the actions, President Biden sent down border patrol troops to cut the wire last year; a decision that prompted Texas to sue the Supreme Court last October, claiming they “damaged Texas property”.
Biden’s decision was supported by the Supreme Court, which stated, “under the supremacy clause state law cannot be applied to restrain those federal agents from carrying out their federally authorized activities.
Alvaro Corral, a political science assistant professor, said Governor Abbott has taken this fight up because of the positive effects it can have politically.
“Many republicans including governor Abbott are using that sort of, disagreement, or displeasure, or disenchantment with the Biden administration, to position themselves as people that can handle this problem effectively,” Corral said.
Multiple Texas counties including Crockett, Edwards and Ellis, have declared support for Governor Abbott’s plans and have gone as far as calling it an invasion.
Neither county judges from Cameron nor Hidalgo have declared it an invasion, however Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño does agree that our current system is not working.
“The immigration issue, the system is broken, it truly is,” said Treviño. “This is the system that the immigrants deal with so if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s our governments for its inability, for its insistence on […] not actually wanting to come up with legislation that’s going to help address the problem.”
As of now, there are already Florida national guards on the border from Ron DeSantis’ previous declaration for support in September 2023.
