SPECIAL REPORT: Texas governor defends decision to shield border amidst criticism from political challengers

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s operation to send Texas National Guard Troops to the border to deal with the surge in migration is facing criticism from political challengers in both parties, as they attempt to capitalize from the crisis at the border amidst growing tension from deployed Guardsmen who are increasingly becoming impatient and restless.  

On the Democratic side, Congressman Beto O' Rourke, the leading Democrat in the gubernatorial race has called for an end to the deployments, saying the operation lacks purpose and sense of mission.

"Abbott’s political stunt with the Texas Guard at the border will cost taxpayers $2 BILLION this year. Let’s send them home to their families and invest that money in schools, health care, and the power grid," he tweeted on Jan. 25.

On the Republican side, the governor is enduring criticism from former Congressman Allen West, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, and also former state Sen. Dan Huffines, both of whom have said Abbott is mishandling the operation.

In a Jan. 29 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr. West said he believes at least 6,000 troops should be on the border, and that the mission lacked clarity, citing administrative and operational concerns.

“You don’t deploy people until you do a proper mission analysis,” he told the Journal. 

Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 to deal with the surge of undocumented migrants crossing the border. The operation uses “available resources to enforce all applicable federal and state laws to prevent the criminal activity along the border, including criminal trespassing, smuggling, and human trafficking, and to assist Texas counties in their efforts to address those criminal activities.”

In October, thousands of Texas National Guard members were sent to assist local law enforcement amidst an overwhelming number of border crossings.

"We're setting all-time records on the number of people who are coming across the border. It was approaching, across the entire border region, close to 2 million people who came across the border this past year," Abbott said in a recent speech to Denton county law enforcement officials in the town of Corinth.

"One reason why we're able to do these strategies is because the state Legislature appropriated $3 billion for the state to be able to address the border crisis. That's Texas taxpayer money doing the federal government's job."

In addition to facing criticism from political challengers who want to unseat him this coming November, Abbott is also facing a recent string of media reports echoing complaints from frustrated Guardsmen who have complained about the operation management, the lack of basic equipment, and pay problems. Some soldiers have expressed criticism over the Guard’s payment issues and living conditions.

O’Rourke, the leading Democrat in the Texas gubernatorial race, traveled to a base camp along the border in Zapata over the weekend to meet with members of the Guard stationed there.

"Some Guard members say the operation has set back their income, education, and well-being," said Texas Tribune reporter James Barragan in an interview with Fox 7.

Those deployed to the border have complained of pay issues, consisting of too little pay, pay coming in late, or not getting paid at all, Barragan added. The increased demand for troops meant that many National Guards were involuntarily activated with little notice. 

National Guard members serve on a part-time basis. However, if they are called up, the service is mandatory.

For many, this mission meant spending an unknown amount of months without working their day-to-day job and earning their regular income. One Guard member complained he lost $60,000 worth of business contracts because of his deployment.

An “irreparable damage that has been done to his livelihood and well-being,” Barragan said. 

Other soldiers claim that their bases were hastily created, and dozens of soldiers have been crowded together in their quarters. There are “not very good living conditions for a soldier there,” added Barragan.

Brigadier General Monie R. Ulis, the general in charge of the mission, responded to the Guard members concerns in a letter, promising to fix the areas of concern.“We acknowledge there are still numerous pay issues and constantly work on a daily basis to resolve these problems. You deserve to get paid every penny for the work you do and we will make sure that you do,” Ulis said. 

On Dec. 23, Abbott faced increased tension after the Army Times reported a string of suicides among the troop members, suggesting they were the result of soldiers dissatisfied with the conditions and uncertainty surrounding their deployment.

Abbott struck back at a Jan. 11 press conference in San Antonio, saying his critics were "just playing politics," by exploiting the suicides issue, adding that in 2021 the Pentagon reported hundreds of suicides, and that the issue is not unique to the Texas National Guard. 

"It is offensive for any of these people raising the issues to politicize the issue of a military member losing their life," Abbott said. "If they are saying something about what's happening in the National Guard in Texas, why are they not at the very same time saying something about President Biden and... hundreds of members of the United States military losing their lives to suicide?"

Col. Rita Holton of the Texas Military Department also lashed out against the media accusations in a Jan. 22 statement, titled, "Setting the record straight on Operation Lone Star," saying the allegations were unfair and misdirected. 

"In recent weeks, the Texas Military Department has been the subject of scurrilous accusations by seemingly reputable media sources. Specifically, allegations raised relate to the department's activation of military personnel to support Operation Lone Star, a state active duty mission related to a disaster declaration issued by Gov. Greg Abbott. 

"After multiple failed attempts to correct the record with these outlets, the Texas Military Department wants to set the record straight to ensure accurate reporting on this mission. It is clear that reporters have gleaned information from anonymous sources and unverified documents, which have then been skewed to push an agenda... this mission is a direct response to a State-Declared Disaster occurring in our own backyard, requiring an immediate response. 

"The department rapidly surged from 500 personnel to more than 10,000 in a matter of months due to a dramatic influx of migrant caravans across the Texas-Mexico border." 

During his Jan. 11 Corinth speech, Abbott suggested the need for troop deployments were the result of police defunding from some of the state's left leaning cities such as Austin, which reduced its law enforcement budget as much as $100 million. 

"When you try to diminish the role of law enforcement, it gives, in a way, support to those who are the criminal elements who want to defy laws, who want to commit crimes, knowing that law enforcement may not be there to control crime," he said according to the Dallas Morning News. 

"That is exactly why this past session we promised our law enforcement officers they will do more than just show our gratitude. We would support them by ensuring that we will not allow cities like Austin to defund the police. Instead, Texas would defund any city that defunds our law enforcement officers."

The original order signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in May 2021, declared the situation a disaster, stating, in part, "...the federal government has shown unwillingness, ambivalence, or inability to enforce federal immigration laws, to deter and stop illegal border crossings into the United States or to meaningfully partner with Texas in pursuing these goals." 

Col. Holton said the governor acted in the interests of the Texan people. 

"Clearly, the state of Texas had to react to protect Texans and the nation," she said.