The Texas National Guard deployed riot gear soldiers on Wednesday to address a critical illegal immigration zone along the United States-Mexico border in Brownsville.
Dozens of soldiers, some equipped with riot shields and gear, hopped off of school buses and marched toward the location where thousands of immigrants have been crossing from Matamoros, Mexico, into the easternmost point of entry along the Texas border.
FIRST US TROOPS ARRIVE AT SOUTHERN BORDER AHEAD OF IMMIGRANT SURGE
NOW: National Guard members are marching from buses parked at the levy over to the tent where we have seen hundreds of migrants waiting in lines. #border #Title42 #nationalguard pic.twitter.com/mDlPUJLqgT
— Kaelan Deese (@KaelanDC) May 10, 2023
"I have thousands of soldiers, airmen, and Texas state guardsmen deployed along 1,254 miles of contiguous international boundary, maintaining safety [and] protecting lives and property" as part of Operation Lone Star, Brig. Gen. Matt Barker told reporters in Brownsville on Thursday.
"We are in support of the Texas Department of Public Safety," Barker added.
The march was intended to be a show of force and did not involve any confrontational tactics toward immigrants.
Barker said the soldiers in riot gear are part of a "Quick Reaction Force" specializing in maintaining order along the border amid migrant crossings.
Texas DPS blocking migrants from entering - rare footage pic.twitter.com/Dw7lE6IbrQ
— Todd Bensman (@BensmanTodd) May 10, 2023
Earlier on Wednesday, Texas DPS was spotted along the river, standing behind rows of barbed wire, blocking lines of immigrants from crossing over and forcing them to wade to a different part of the river bank.
The show of force from the Texas National Guard comes just one day after Brownsville saw over 10,000 migrant crossings through Tuesday and just one day before the pandemic-era immigration policy Title 42, which allows the swift expulsion of immigrants, is slated to end.
"Texas deployed trained soldiers and troopers to take real action and respond to this crisis," Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) tweeted on Wednesday, accusing President Joe Biden of sending 1,500 soldiers to the border to "do paperwork" for immigrants.
Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas dodged questions during a press conference when a reporter inquired whether there were any thorny legal matters surrounding Texas DPS blocking immigrants from climbing up the riverbank.
"I'm going to leave it to our Department of Justice to speak to the lawfulness, or lack thereof, of those actions," Mayorkas said, adding the Customs and Border Protection officers work closely with Texas DPS "when it is a collaborative effort."
"It is essential that law enforcement work as one team to address the challenge of the southern border," Mayorkas said.
DHS said Wednesday it would be tightening its asylum policies by disqualifying immigrants from U.S. protection if they fail to request refugee status in another country, such as Mexico, on their trek to the southern border.
When asked by a Washington Examiner reporter whether that announcement would alleviate concerns raised by the Texas National Guard, Barker said, "I would hope so."
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"That's a question for the federal government. We're just doing our best here to deter and interdict with the resources we have just in the state of Texas," Barker said.
Barker confirmed that the deterrent efforts but the state National Guard were not at the request of the federal government.