Texas Governor Rick Perry announced he plans on sending 1,000 National Guard troops to the border with Mexico in an attempt to stop drug cartels from entering the U.S.
Perry also accused the federal government of not doing enough to ensure border security when he made the Monday announcement, CBS News reported. The troops will not be there to address the influx of unaccompanied children entering the country illegally, which Republicans claim the Obama admiration is not doing enough about.
Instead they will serve as reinforcements to aid the state Department of Public Safety "combat the brutal Mexican drug cartels that are preying upon our communities," Perry said.
"I will not stand idly by while our citizens are under assault and little children from Central America are detained in squalor. We are too good of a country," the governor said according to CBS News.
It will cost Texas $12 million a month to keep the National Guard troops at the border, the McAllen Monitor reported.
Troops would be able to detain people upon request, but will serve a "referring and deterring" role to intimidate the Mexican drug cartels with their presence, Texas Adjutant General John Nicholas said according to CBS News. They will also be able to refer suspected undocumented immigrants to DPS.
Perry said the money the state spends on maintaining border security should be repaid by the federal government. However, before the governor's announcement, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Perry's statements are most likely symbolic in nature, the station reported.
"What we're hopeful is that Governor Perry will not just take these kinds of steps that are generating the kind of headlines I suspect he intended, but will actually take the kinds of steps that will be constructive to solving the problem over the long term."
© 2025 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
