Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) has announced plans to build a 2,300-bed military base at Eagle Pass, according to ABC News.
The municipality of Eagle Pass has been in the news for weeks as the Lone Star State has been at odds with the federal government regarding whether Texas can protect its borders despite orders from Washington to stand down.
At a press conference, the Texas governor said, "As opposed to being scattered around many different places across this region, they will be operating out of one place. It will amass a large army in a very strategic area. It will increase the speed and flexibility of the Texas National Guard to be able to respond to crossings," Abbott said.
The base is expected to have 300 beds ready to use by April and 300 each month following.
"As we all know, come springtime, there's going to be additional caravans that are making their way through the southern and central part of Mexico deciding where they are going to be going," Abbott said according to ABC News. "We want to make sure that when they come to the crossroad about, 'Are they going to go to Texas? Are they going to go elsewhere?' They will know the wrong place to go is the state of Texas."
In January, Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) spoke with Texas Politics in an exclusive interview to discuss President Biden and the Democratic Party’s approach to the southern border.
Figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveal that September and November of 2023 saw some of the highest migrant encounters ever recorded. Over 200,000 migrants appeared at the border from August to November.
Rep. Sessions believes the Biden administration is deliberately allowing this to happen.
“Well, there’s no question that President Biden and the Democratic Party intend to overrun this country with tens of millions of people from all around the globe. 140-some countries of people. That is what their intent is, and it is against the law, and it will cause America to really struggle these next few years as we deal with them being here because they’re not allowed to work,” said Rep. Sessions.
“This only aids more crime, and the real problem is it’s mostly young men. And young men have a tendency to become not only criminals but threaten the stability of local law enforcement.”