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Texas plans to build a military base near Eagle Pass in response to ‘Biden’s border crisis’

February 18, 2024 | | Print Article

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced plans Friday to build a Texas National Guard base near the southern border.

It’ll be a Forward Operating Base explicitly designed for Texas National Guard troops to quickly respond “to President Joe Biden’s border crisis,” according to a press release from Abbott’s office.

“Texas is expanding our border security capabilities by building a new Texas Military Department base camp to increase and improve border security operations in this area,” the governor said in a statement. “This will increase the ability for a larger number of Texas Military Department soldiers in Eagle Pass to operate more effectively and efficiently.”

“Before now, the Texas National Guard had been scattered across this entire region in cramped quarters, away from fellow soldiers, and sometimes traveling long distances to do their job. This base camp is going to dramatically improve conditions for our soldiers. Texas would not be able to respond to President Biden’s border crisis without the brave men and women of the Texas National Guard, and it is essential to build this base camp for them.”

According to a separate statement from Adjutant General of Texas Major Gen. Thomas Suelzer, the base will house 1,800 National Guard troops but also boast space for 500 additional “surge” troops.

“In the coming weeks, we will also be expanding operations north and south of Eagle Pass, putting up additional barriers to fortify our border,” Suelzer said.

“We are also adding three more fan boats and expanding our drone program radar truck capabilities. Under Governor Abbott’s leadership, we are deploying every available resource and strategy to protect and defend Texas,” he added.

During an official press conference, Abbott stressed that the cost of the base will be “minimal” thanks to the money that’ll be saved housing National Guard members at the base versus in hotels, where many of them are currently stationed.

The base will be located on 80 acres of land in Eagle Pass, an area frequently traversed by criminal illegal aliens, and include command posts, weapons storage rooms, vehicle maintenance bays, and a helicopter pad, Suelzer said during Friday’s presser.

The press release further notes that the base will include “a 700-seat dining facility, a recreation center, laundry facilities, WiFi access, individual rooms for soldiers starting at 118 square feet, chaplaincy programs, and medical and psychological health facilities.”

“The key thing I want you to take away from this is that we are providing a better quality of life for our Texas National Guard soldiers,” Texas Border Czar Mike Banks said.

He also gave a shout-out to Texas’ Operation Lone Star program for drastically lowering the number of border crossings into  Texas.

“To see those numbers decrease in Texas, it’s a testament to what these soldiers and DPS are doing to secure the border. I applaud Governor Abbott for your leadership to stand up and do what the federal government continues to fail to do,” he said.

This big announcement came a day after “[a] federal judge in Austin heard three hours of arguments on Thursday over whether to halt the implementation of a new law, set to go into effect on March 5, that would allow state and local police officers to directly arrest unauthorized migrants as a prelude to removing them from the country,” according to The New York Times.

The pro-criminal illegal alien Biden administration predictably opposes the law, SB 4, and has sued to prevent it from taking effect, arguing that the law undermines the federal government’s allegedly “exclusive authority” to enforce (or not enforce) immigration law.

“Its efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations. SB 4 is invalid and must be enjoined,” the lawsuit reads, according to CNN.

“SB 4 is clearly unconstitutional,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement. “Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and longstanding Supreme Court precedent, states cannot adopt immigration laws that interfere with the framework enacted by Congress. The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its responsibility to uphold the Constitution and enforce federal law.”

But the administration hasn’t been enforcing federal immigration laws — instead it’s been allowing criminal illegal aliens to run roughshod and make a mockery of America’s immigration laws.

Vivek Saxena
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