Texas to send military armored personnel carriers to the border to escalate enforcement: Report

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission will soon include armored personnel carriers as he steps up enforcement, days after invoking an “invasion” clause of both the U.S. Constitution and Texas Constitution to combat ongoing and overwhelming illegal immigration in the state.

The Texas Tribune reported that the Texas Military Department issued the order as part of Operation Lone Star. The National Guard will soon deploy 10 M113 armored personnel carrier vehicles to the border, the publication said. 

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT AUTHORIZES LAW ENFORCEMENT TO RETURN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO BORDER

Fox News Digital has reached out to the TMD and Abbott’s office. 

Around 50 soldiers will be trained to operate the APC’s, small tracked vehicles designed to carry infantry troops in combat zones alongside tanks, while state officials will identify 10 positions to station them along the southern border.

“These actions are part of a larger strategy to use every available tool to fight back against the record-breaking level of illegal immigration,” the department said in a statement. “The Texas National Guard is taking unprecedented measures to safeguard our border and to repel and turn-back immigrants trying to cross the border illegally.”

Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 in a joint effort between the National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to combat illegal immigration and crime at the border. 

He has also bussed thousands of illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities in an effort to bring attention to the border amid the federal government’s lackluster response to record levels of illegal immigration.