UPDATED: Texas Sends National Guard Troops to Mexico Border

[DonViejo]

Last edited Sat Apr 7, 2018, 10:42 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Daily Beast

Texas authorities began sending 250 National Guard personnel to the border with Mexico late Friday, becoming the first U.S. state to spring to action on President Trump’s calls for a military presence to keep undocumented immigrants out. Two Lakota helicopters carrying four National Guard members departed Austin’s Armed Forces Reserve Center just after 7 p.m. Friday, with the full deployment to be completed within 72 hours, authorities said. The National Guard will send surveillance vehicles and light and medium aircraft in addition to personnel. The move comes after Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense to send National Guard troops to the border “until we can have a wall and proper security.” Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday authorized funding for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel through Sept. 30, with Arizona and New Mexico vowing to begin their mobilizations in the days to come.

READ IT AT NEW YORK TIMES

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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/texas-sends-national-guard-troops-to-mexico-border?ref=home

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UPDATE:

Arizona, Texas send 400 troops to border after Trump's call

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 04/07/2018 09:21 AM EDT

AUSTIN, Texas — Arizona and Texas announced Friday that they would send 400 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border by next week in response to President Donald Trump's call for troops to fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy next week. And the Texas National Guard said it was already sending Guardsmen to the border, with plans to place 250 troops there in the next 72 hours as an "initial surge," according to a Guard spokesman. Two helicopters lifted off Friday night from Austin, the state capital, to head south.

The total so far remains well short of the 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members that Trump told reporters he wants to send. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez's office said Friday that it had not yet deployed any Guard members. The office of California Gov. Jerry Brown did not respond to questions about whether it would deploy troops.

Trump's proclamation Wednesday directing the use of National Guard troops refers to Title 32, a federal law under which Guard members remain under the command and control of their state's governor. This leaves open the possibility that California's Brown could turn him down.

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/07/arizona-texas-troops-border-507995

[zaj]

1. Why couldn't Texas do this before now?

[Hortensis]

7. :) And why WOULD Texas?

The influx basically stopped, dropped a bit, and stabiliized during the W and Obama administrations in the first graph. The second graph shows a one reason for why it stabilized -- those who have made permanent homes here and haven't yet had the brownshirts hammering on their doors.

Authorities in border states also know something Fox NEVER mentions: that many of today's illegal border crossings are returning to the U.S. from visits to family, such as to see a new grandchild, or sadly often their own children.

And some of those illegal crossings are for medical care when conditions require more care than they can afford here. Fox never mentions this either, but Mexico has national health insurance, available right across the border.

[TexasProgresive]

2. A minimum of a 6 month deployment that will affect their families and income.

I would rather he get his wall then breaking up more families.

[Hortensis]

4. :) Let's watch him break up citizen families for a while

(instead of nonvoting immigrant families) and see how that works for him and the trumpsters affected.

Deploying members of the National Guard away from family, jobs, home -- for this! Summer's almost here down there also and predicted to be hotter than last year's record temps.

Unfortunately, deploying will qualify more for the military's excellent Tricare health insurance, and at reduced premiums, but even so perhaps they'll come out of it having experienced what it is to have really good insurance and regretting losing it.

[DownriverDem]

3. Disgusting

It's all about trump's base. He wants to whip them up so they vote in November.

[malthaussen]

5. What's the mission? What are the Rules of Engagement?

Tell me, Mr Mattis, has anyone thought this out, like, at all?

-- Mal

[Trust Buster]

6. They have been freed up from monitoring the evil Obamas Jade Helm military exercises....LOL

[Lonestarblue]

8. Governor Abbott is a sycophant.

He will suck up to any Republican who might support him in destroying voting rights and denying women and gays as many rights as possible.

[notdarkyet]

9. AZ 400 mile border, at least, four hundred troops. Texas 400 troops longer border. Not going to

Cover much ground. It’s optics. From what I understand they are not allowed to shoot or arrest anyone. This is a waste of money and time. Trump is just having a tantrum because he did not get his wall. This will not create voters for him. It’s hell on the border starting next month, and those deployed will be miserable. Another stupid , ill thought fantasy from a damaged brain based on a made up , fear mongering story from Hannity and fox.

[SergeStorms]

10. All they can legally do....

is report them to the Border Patrol Agents in the area, the same as any other private citizen. Little Donnie Trump probably thinks they're going down there guns-a-blazing. I'd love to be in the room when he's told they can't do shit about stemming the "caravans" of Central Americans "flooding" over the border (although arrests at the border are down to levels not seen since 1971). These stinking NG Troops aren't even needed. It's just Trump showing his monumentally ignorant base that he's fulfilling his most ignorant campaign promise. The cost, and the time these National Guard Troops are away from home, never enter into Trump's pea-sized brain.

Trump is a menace to the entire world.