Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday ordered the National Guard to help local law enforcement with arresting migrants as the state continues to see an influx of people crossing the southern border.
“To respond to this disaster and secure the rule of law at our Southern border, more manpower is needed — in addition to the troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and soldiers from the Texas National Guard I have already deployed there — and DPS needs help in arresting those who are violating state law,” Abbott said in a letter to Major Gen. Tracy R. Norris of the Texas Military Department, according to The Texas Tribune. “I hereby order that the Texas National Guard assist DPS in enforcing Texas law by arresting lawbreakers at the border.”
The Hill is reporting that there were nearly 189,000 attempted crossings at the border with Mexico and Texas in June. Governor Abbott has repeatedly slammed President Joe Biden for his handling of the increased border crossings.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a judge in Hidalgo, Texas also ordered that immigration federal authorities stop releasing migrants with COVID-19 into the community.
The La Joya Police Department released a statement on Monday claiming after encountering a migrant family at a Whataburger, they were informed that they were apprehended by Border Patrol, but released because they were infected with the coronavirus.
On Monday when the Humanitarian Respite Center went over capacity and began turning people away in the border town of McAllen, Texas, migrants were put up in hotels within the community by the Catholic Charities of The Rio Grande Valley.
However, the hotel did not contain the family inside their rooms. The La Joya Police Department issued a public health warning citing reports that the visibly sick migrants had been at a burger joint not wearing masks.
To help overwhelmed immigration agencies, several states have sent law enforcement and members of their National Guard to assist with the high traffic areas between the U.S. and Mexico, including South Dakota, Florida, Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
