Texas to build military base on Mexico border amid migration crisis

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Feb 2024 03:43

Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the military facility will be able to accommodate some 300 soldiers by April.

Members of the Texas National Guard sit inside the fence at Shelby Park on February 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by SERGIO FLORES / AFP)

Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas revealed Friday the state's intention to build a military base along the border with Mexico, adding another layer to the ongoing election-year conflict with the White House regarding migration.

A wave of illegal border crossings in recent months has made migration a key talking point in the US presidential election campaign once again, with Republicans seeking to blame the record-high numbers entirely on Democratic President Joe Biden.

Abbott announced the new base in the flashpoint border town of Eagle Pass, where he has amassed National Guard troops from Texas and other Republican-led states to erect razor wire and other barriers in a bid to block migrants from entering the country.

A survey conducted for Newsweek indicates that the ongoing migrant crisis has influenced #Texan attitudes toward independence.

The poll revealed that 44% of respondents are more likely or significantly more likely to support #Texas becoming a fully independent country.

Daniel… pic.twitter.com/wEOty54Slh
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 16, 2024

The town lies along the Rio Grande, the river that forms the border.

According to Abbott, the facility built on the site will be able to accommodate some 300 soldiers by April and will have the ability to expand to house up to 2,300.

"This will increase the ability for a larger number of Texas military department personnel in Eagle Pass to operate more effectively and more efficiently," he said.

Abbott, a supporter of former president and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, accuses the Biden administration of allowing an "invasion" of illegal migrants at the country's southern border.

He also accuses the White House of failing to take action against the drug cartels that, according to him, control the border on the Mexican side.

Border control is a federal responsibility in the United States, but in January the Texas National Guard moved into a municipal park in Eagle Pass, overlooking the river.

Abbott has also installed some 100 miles (160 kilometers) of barbed wire along the Rio Grande, a measure that the Biden administration is challenging in court.

The US Supreme Court has temporarily authorized the federal government to remove the barbed wire, but Texas has continued to install it while the dispute proceeds.

"Having the soldiers located right here, right by the river, they're going to have the ability to more quickly be able to construct that razor wire barrier," said Abbott on Friday, praising the "effectiveness" of the device.

Texas has also recently passed a law allowing its forces to arrest illegal migrants at the border, a power normally reserved for the federal government.

The courts are expected to rule on the issue before the law goes into effect in March.