Troops to the border
Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:40 pm
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is set to announce Monday that 1,000 U.S. National Guard troops will be deployed to the Rio Grande Valley, according to an internal memo detailing the plan obtained on Sunday.
State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, confirmed that Perry is set to announce the deployment on Monday.
“Gov. Perry plans to hold a press conference tomorrow at 2 p.m. and he is calling up the National Guard to help out on the border,” Hinojosa said Sunday evening. “Of course, we are opposed to bringing up the National Guard. We do not need to militarize the border. These are families and children. We need to manage the situation.”
The National Guard troops will be deployed to the Valley to join the Texas Department of Public Safety in its recent surge to combat human smuggling and drug trafficking amid the influx of mostly Central Americans illegally crossing the Rio Grande.
“This is not a militarization of the border,” the memo states. “The DPS and the National Guard are working to keep any drug and human trafficking south of (U.S. Highway) 83 and with the goal of keeping any smuggling from entering major highways to transport East/West/and North.”
DPS officials want to send National Guard troops into western areas of the Valley and the ranch lands further north, according to the memo.
“Smuggling has supposedly according to DPS moved West on the border with an increase in Jim Hogg County,” the memo states. “DPS especially wants to apply the Guard in the rural areas to patrol.”
The National Guard deployment will cost up to $12 million per month, with $9.8 million of that personnel and vehicle costs and another $2.4 million estimated to cover the cost of helicopters.
“It would take a month to get 1,000 troops on the ground but they will only slowly call up the troops,” the memo states.
Activating the National Guard alongside DPS personnel will bring Texas’ total cost of deploying additional resources to the surge to $5 million per week.
“It is not clear where the money will come from in the budget,” the memo states, adding that Perry’s office has said the money will come from “non critical” areas, such as health care or transportation.
State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, confirmed that Perry is set to announce the deployment on Monday.
“Gov. Perry plans to hold a press conference tomorrow at 2 p.m. and he is calling up the National Guard to help out on the border,” Hinojosa said Sunday evening. “Of course, we are opposed to bringing up the National Guard. We do not need to militarize the border. These are families and children. We need to manage the situation.”
The National Guard troops will be deployed to the Valley to join the Texas Department of Public Safety in its recent surge to combat human smuggling and drug trafficking amid the influx of mostly Central Americans illegally crossing the Rio Grande.
“This is not a militarization of the border,” the memo states. “The DPS and the National Guard are working to keep any drug and human trafficking south of (U.S. Highway) 83 and with the goal of keeping any smuggling from entering major highways to transport East/West/and North.”
DPS officials want to send National Guard troops into western areas of the Valley and the ranch lands further north, according to the memo.
“Smuggling has supposedly according to DPS moved West on the border with an increase in Jim Hogg County,” the memo states. “DPS especially wants to apply the Guard in the rural areas to patrol.”
The National Guard deployment will cost up to $12 million per month, with $9.8 million of that personnel and vehicle costs and another $2.4 million estimated to cover the cost of helicopters.
“It would take a month to get 1,000 troops on the ground but they will only slowly call up the troops,” the memo states.
Activating the National Guard alongside DPS personnel will bring Texas’ total cost of deploying additional resources to the surge to $5 million per week.
“It is not clear where the money will come from in the budget,” the memo states, adding that Perry’s office has said the money will come from “non critical” areas, such as health care or transportation.
