Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas is taking a long-term approach to controlling illegal immigration at the southern border. He isn’t merely plugging along just until the 2024 election returns Trump to the Oval Office — if it does.
Abbott doesn’t have that luxury. He’s been in politics long enough to know that anything can happen. Thus, he needs to act as if nothing will, beyond what is already occurring.
Texas is being invaded and the rest of the country has been inundated with spillover problems as the Biden administration intentionally fails to secure the border. With every new body that enters our nation illegally, the Democrats are adding to their voter base. So why would they stop the flow?
They are making it hard on Abbott for a reason, and, in turn, on the state law enforcement and Texas National Guard, which he had to deploy to take charge of the situation. Abbott is fighting a two-front war, at the border and in Washington, D.C., and he has decided to officially set up shop to make it more comfortable for the soldiers forced to be on the front lines.
That shop is a new 80-acre base in Eagle Pass, Texas. According to The Texas Tribune, the base will shelter up to 2,300 National Guard who have been deployed to the illegal-immigration hot spot.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is in Eagle Pass right now to show an area where the state is building a new Texas Military Dept. base camp.
He said it will be able to house up to 1,800 soldiers with ability to expand up to 2,300 if state has “surge needs.”@KXAN_News pic.twitter.com/yTuPYWH9fe
— Will DuPree (@willdupreetv) February 16, 2024
The Texas border town of Eagle Pass is widely considered the busiest border sector in Texas.
Migrants have been flooding across the borders in record numbers. In December, CBS News reported that 50,000 migrants had been processed by the border patrol in just a five-day stretch.
Should more states send soldiers to the border?
Yes: 99% (69 Votes)
No: 1% (1 Votes)
This is in addition to the roughly 1,500 migrants a day being processed through official border crossing under the Biden program using the official app.
The situation is dire. The new military base is meant to lessen the strain on those soldiers required to be there under Operation Lone Star. Launched in March 2021, the $10 billion program must now shell out additional funding to create a livable situation for the National Guard to effectively man the front line in the long term. How much funding? Abbott has yet to share, according to the Texas Tribune.
Given his whatever-it-takes mentality, however, he will undoubtedly view that the cost outweighs the damage that would occur to our nation if he didn’t pay it.
Abbott isn’t betting that anything will change. The risk to our nation is too great, especially given the United States has now absorbed approximately 8.9 million illegal immigrants already under the Biden administration. For context, more illegal immigrants have entered the United States under the Biden immigration than the total number of inhabitants living in the state of Arizona — and 38 other states. Let that sink in.
The base will house 1,800 to 2,300 soldiers at one time. These men and women will no longer live in make-shift living quarters, which undoubtedly impacts effectiveness and morale.
Currently, the Tribune reported, they are living in tents, hotels and private residences. Others are traveling well over an hour to where they are stationed. The pressure and inconvenience require an alternate solution to be put into place.
Abbott acknowledged that the lodgings were atypical for routine military operations, but for Operation Lone Star, the soldiers needed more.
“Because of the magnitude of what we’re doing, because of the need to sustain and actually expand our efforts of what we’re doing, it’s essential that we build this base camp for the soldiers,” Abbot told reporters at a news conference in Eagle Pass.
Doing so will give troops and command the ability to be present on-site in large numbers, something that would remain a logistical challenge if there were no facility there.
Currently, 3,000 soldiers are deployed to the 1,200-mile border. Apprehending illegals, erecting barriers and preventing Border Patrol agents from interfering with the measures that they have already put into place to deter additional illegal crossings are just some of the duties they are carrying out, according to the Tribune.
The outlet quoted Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer as saying they plan to have the base ready to house 300 soldiers by mid-April and they plan to add accommodations for 300 more each month until the base is complete.
The installation of this new base will be a big advantage for Texas soldiers. The border situation is now a full-blown crisis, thanks to the Biden administration. With the new border bill being a total flop, Texas is being forced to take drastic measures. Inarguably, the fate of the United States rests squarely on Abbott’s shoulders.
Putting the soldiers first is the optimal move, one any true leader would do. If he wasn’t so needed in Texas, I’d say that Trump should look to Abbott as his vice president. Without question, he could run this country if required too.
