Texas will build a military camp on the border with Mexico

Texas will build a military camp on its border with Mexico that will house up to 1,800 soldiers from that state’s National Guard deployed to help with the security of the dividing line, the Governor Greg Abbott.

The camp would be built in the Eagle Pass area, the same border area where the Republican governor ordered the placement of a buoy barrier over the Rio Grande (Río Bravo) and for which he maintains a dispute with the Government of President Joe Biden.

At a news conference from the site where the camp will be built, Abbott said the project was a “win-win” situation, referring to the well-being of the soldiers assigned to the border and the work they do.

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

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Texas decided to declare war on illegal immigration and announced that it will build a military camp on its border with Mexico🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/s9zU83raHu

— Post (@PoostNeews) February 18, 2024

The new facilities will house up to 1,800 Texas National Guard soldiers, who have been living in “atypical” conditions since they were assigned to guard the border, as part of Operation Lone Star, launched by Abbott in 2021.

The infrastructure will also have the capacity to house 500 additional soldiers in the event the Texas Tactical Border Force needs to be deployed to that area.

Abbott justifies the construction of the camp

The Republican governor justified the construction of the camp given the “magnitude” of the operation and the need to expand it. “It will be good for them (for the soldiers), it will improve living conditions and keep morale very strong,” he said. The first phase is expected to be completed by April, which will provide around 300 beds.

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

The camp is part of a broader effort by Abbott to try to stop migrants from crossing the border illegally into Texas, which has seen him place barbed wire and a buoy barrier in the Rio Grande River, a move that has been criticized by the Government of the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

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

With information from EFE