National Guard stand for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and fellow Governors as they hold a press conference along the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss Operation Lone Star and border concerns on Feb. 4 in Eagle Pass.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and fellow governors hold a press conference along the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss Operation Lone Star and border concerns on Feb. 4 in Eagle Pass.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee joins Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and fellow governors for a press conference along the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss Operation Lone Star and border concerns on Feb. 4 in Eagle Pass.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins fellow governors for a press conference at the U.S.-Mexico border on Feb. 4 in Eagle Pass.
National Guard troops as background at a press conference along the U.S.-Mexico border on Feb. 4 in Eagle Pass.
Community members of Eagle Pass gather outside Shelby Park to protest its closing, the militarization of their community, the “take Back Our Border” convoy and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joining fellow governors holding a press conference to discuss border security plans on Feb. 4 in Eagle Pass.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s order for Texas National Guard troops to block Customs and Border Protection agents from doing their job reminded me initially of Fort Sumter, the first battle of the Civil War. But I now realize he’s reenacting the Battle of the Alamo.
The governor tipped his hand when he introduced a Republican ally on the shores of the Rio Grande.
“Now, I’m going to turn it over to Bill Lee, the governor of the great state of Tennessee — a state, by the way, that from the very beginning of Texas history has always been here for the great state of Texas,” Abbott told a news conference.
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In 1836, 32 Tennesseans joined the Anglo revolt against Mexico, becoming the largest out-of-state contingent at the Alamo. The most famous Tennessean was Davy Crockett, a former congressman. Other large groups included 15 each from Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Just as Texas rebels appealed to white Americans to join them, Abbott has called on fellow GOP governors to send troops and police to join his quixotic border standoff. And like the Alamo fighters, Abbott knows he will likely lose the battle but hopes to win a war.
Abbott first sent National Guard troops and state police to the border in 2021, surging them during election seasons and reducing them when he didn’t need the spotlight. After Texas’ extremely restrictive abortion law drew national condemnation last year, Abbott launched another border build-up ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Abbott’s Operation Lone Star initially deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to help Customs and Border Protection interdict migrants crossing between entry points. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers patrol the river in gunboats while onshore cruisers chase migrant smugglers.
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Last July, Abbott ordered a more aggressive approach to provoke President Joe Biden. He hired contractors to float a death trap into the federally regulated Rio Grande and ordered troops to position shipping containers and razor wire along the riverbanks.
Today, Texas guard soldiers block federal agents from accessing 2.5 miles of the border. Abbott has Republican allies to help him seize other stretches.
Lee sent 125 soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard’s 1175th Transportation Company in October. The unit will operate surveillance cameras for a year, Lee’s office said.
“This crisis will only become worse if immediate action isn’t taken. That’s why governors are working together to do what the federal government won’t do,” Lee told the news conference on Feb. 4. Tennessee has been sending troops to the border for three years, and it’s not alone.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis upped the ante in July, sending 500 National Guard soldiers and another 600 law enforcement and government employees. Last year, Arkansas, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia all sent soldiers.
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Last week, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he would send 150 Louisiana National Guard members in March at an estimated cost of $3 million. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is sending 50 troops for a 10-month deployment beginning next month. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he would send five soldiers and five state police at a cost of $150,000.
Before long, every Republican governor will send a symbolic force to join Abbott’s spectacle. Polls show that core GOP voters rank immigration as their most important issue, and they don’t mind spending millions of dollars on a Trump for president publicity stunt.
Texas taxpayers are shouldering the biggest burden. Operation Lone Star cost Texans more than $4 billion in 2021 and 2022, and the Legislature has appropriated another $5 billion for this year and next. The Legislature has granted Abbott billions more for other border operations, including additions to the border wall.
The Department of Justice has filed suit against Abbott for interfering with federal law enforcement. The Biden administration’s argument is simple and well-founded, the Constitution and the Supreme Court place federal law and authority over state hijinks. Just as the hapless volunteers at the Alamo lost, so will Abbott when the court eventually enforces the law.
The confrontation was never about an invasion, because the migrants were not an armed force. Nor was it about immigration because this problem also existed under Trump and most of these troops will go home in November. Abbott is trying to help Trump win reelection by keeping Americans talking about the border.
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Our National Guard and law enforcement are the sacrificial lambs, uprooted from their regular lives to violate federal law. Average Americans are also paying billions in wasted taxes for what is nothing more than cynical politics.
Award-winning opinion writer Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about money, politics and life in Texas. Sign up for his “Tomlinson’s Take” newsletter at houstonhchronicle.com/tomlinsonnewsletter or expressnews.com/tomlinsonnewsletter.
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