Fresh off declaring an “invasion” at the Texas-Mexico border, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration has directed the state’s military to send tank-like military vehicles to 10 spots on the international boundary, the Washington Examiner has learned.
The Texas National Guard will deploy 10 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers to the southern border in the coming days, the Texas Military Department told the Washington Examiner on Monday.
The state will also boost aircraft flights over certain regions, though the department did not specify in its Nov. 17 internal announcement how many flights or helicopters may be sent down.
BORDER PATROL DOUBLES SIGN-UP BONUS TO $20K AMID AGENT MORALE CRISIS
Texas Military Department service members work side by side with the Texas Department of Public Safety & other law enforcement to stop illegal activities from crossing the Texas-Mexico border.
Thank you for keeping our state safe. pic.twitter.com/V9ezpAhvVa
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 21, 2022
“These actions are part of a larger strategy to use every available tool to fight back against the record-breaking level of illegal immigration,” the Military Department said in a statement. ”The Texas National Guard is taking unprecedented measures to safeguard our border and to repel and turn-back immigrants trying to cross the border illegally.”
The tank-like vehicles are primarily used to transport troops safely into dangerous areas or places with rough terrain that vehicles cannot get through. These armored vehicles were originally used during the Vietnam War and are bulletproof and can weather minor explosions outside.
A report by the Texas Tribune and Army Times stated that roughly 50 soldiers will be trained in how to operate the Armored Personnel Carriers and sent down south with them.
State officials did not disclose where on the border each of the 10 vehicles will be based.
Exactly a week ago, Abbott declared an “invasion” at the state’s border with Mexico, the first time in modern history that a state has determined the federal government had failed to protect citizens and allowed the state to defend itself.
“I invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. & Texas Constitutions to fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented measures to defend our state against an invasion,” Abbott said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m using that constitutional authority, & other authorization & Executive Orders to keep our state & country safe.”
Abbott’s declaration came one week after he won a third four-year term as governor.
Aside from the new information about the tank-like vehicles and aircraft flights, Abbott has not disclosed what the state’s plan is after declaring an invasion. He listed bullet points of initiatives that the state had commenced over the past year and a half, including deploying Texas National Guard and Texas state troopers to the border, returning some illegal immigrants to ports of entry for expulsion to Mexico, and building a border wall — though only a handful of miles have gone up in that time.
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Texas has previously sent Humvees to the border with National Guardsmen.
I invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. & Texas Constitutions to fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented measures to defend our state against an invasion.
I’m using that constitutional authority, & other authorization & Executive Orders to keep our state & country safe: pic.twitter.com/2Jt5HEMgp5
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 15, 2022
