Texas will build a military camp on the border with Mexico – DW – 02/17/2024

Republican Governor Greg Abbott said Friday (02/16/2024) that Texas will build a military camp on its border with Mexico that will house 1,800 troops from the state’s National Guard deployed to help secure the border.

The camp will be built in the Eagle Pass area, the same border area where the governor ordered the installation of a buoy barrier on the Rio Grande and over which he is in dispute with the government of United States President Joe Biden.

Speaking at a press conference from where the camp will be built, Abbott referred to the well-being of troops at the border and the work they do, saying the project is something where “everybody wins”.

“This will increase the ability of the large number of Texas Military Department personnel at Eagle Pass to operate more effectively and efficiently,” Abbott said.

The camp is part of Abbott’s broader effort to stop migrants crossing the border illegally into Texas, leading him to install barbed wire and a buoy barrier in the Rio Grande River, a move criticized by the president. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The new facilities will house 1,800 Texas National Guard troops, who are living in “extraordinary” conditions after being assigned to guard the border as part of Operation Lone Star, launched by Abbott in 2021.

The camp will also have the capacity to house an additional 500 troops if the Texas Tactical Border Force needs to deploy to the area.

Abbott justified the creation of the camp by noting the “grandeur” of the operation and the need to expand it. “It will be good for them (troops), it will improve living conditions and maintain very strong morale,” he said. It is expected that the first phase will be completed by April, with around 300 beds available.

“As we all know, when spring comes there will be additional caravans coming through the southern and central part of Mexico… We want to make sure that when they come to the crossroads whether they go to Texas or somewhere else, they know ‘The place to go to the wrong place is the state of Texas,’ Abbott warned.

The Texas government also recently took control of a municipal park in Eagle Pass, where it is not allowing Border Patrol agents to crack down on migrants crossing the river, and hopes to install more barriers.

GS (EFE, AP, Reuters)