Gov. Abbott Expands Texas Border Security with Federal Backing

HOUSTON, TX – Governor Greg Abbott announced the deployment of the Texas Tactical Border Force to the Rio Grande Valley on Monday, adding over 400 troops to border operations alongside U.S. Border Patrol agents under Operation Lone Star.

This move is part of a coordinated effort with the federal government, now led by President Donald Trump, to enhance border security.

The Texas Tactical Border Force, departing from military bases in Houston and Fort Worth, includes C-130 and Chinook helicopter support. These newly deployed forces will join thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers already stationed along the border under Abbott’s ongoing initiative, which has apprehended more than 530,800 undocumented immigrants and seized over 622 million lethal doses of fentanyl since its launch in 2023.

"Texas has a partner in the White House we can work with to secure the Texas-Mexico border," Governor Abbott stated. "To support that mission, today, I deployed the Texas Tactical Border Force, comprised of hundreds of troops, to work side-by-side with U.S. Border Patrol agents to stop illegal immigrants from entering our country and to enforce immigration laws. For the past four years, Texas held the line against the Biden Administration’s border crisis and its refusal to protect Americans. Finally, we have a federal government working to end this crisis. I thank President Donald Trump for his decisive leadership on the southern border and look forward to working with him and his Administration to secure the border and make America safe again.”

The announcement coincided with nationwide enforcement operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which targeted undocumented immigrants over the weekend.