AUSTIN — Governor Abbott has ordered the Texas National Guard to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) with arresting individuals at the border.
In a letter to Major General Tracy R. Norris, Adjutant General of the Texas National Guard, Governor Abbott ordered guardsmen to assist with arrests for state charges related to the border.
During a June Border Security Summit, the Governor announced that individuals who commit criminal trespass, or other state offenses, will be subject to arrest and confinement.
The order builds up the Governor's disaster declaration directing DPS to enforce federal and state criminal laws for criminal trespassing, smuggling and human trafficking.
"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 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," reads the letter. "By virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, I hereby order that the Texas National Guard assist DPS in enforcing Texas law by arresting lawbreakers at the border."
You can read the Governor's full letter to General Norris here.
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