OAN’s Taylor Tinsley
5:38 PM – Friday, May 31, 2024
Hundreds of Texas National Guard troops have moved to a new base camp in Eagle Pass.
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Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) welcomed 300 troops to a new base camp in Eagle Pass on Friday.
Phase one of the new base was initiated on Friday as hundreds of soldiers moved into the 80 acre complex.
Abbott said phase two will be completed after two weeks from Friday, when another 300 troops move in. The process will continue up until November, housing up to 1,7000 soldiers altogether.
“Remember this, this unprecedented effort is only needed because of President Biden’s unprecedented open border policies,” the governor said.
According to Abbott, the new base will not only allow Texas to have their troops right along the border, but it will also provide housing and other standards “that improve the quality of life” for service members.
He said Texas won’t stop until it gains full operational control of its border.
“There’s been an all time record set for the number of people crossing the border illegally. More than 10 million people have been apprehended crossing the border illegally,” Abbott said. “Think about this, here in Texas there’s more than four Houston’s that have crossed the border illegally in just the three-and-a-half years of Joe Biden’s presidency.”
Officials say having a base right along the border will be more operationally efficient and effective.
It also comes in part of Abbott’s border security initiative, Operation Lone Star, and the joint task force will now be moved to the command base.
Officials added that once the project is over, they will have shut down three other base camps. They’ll also be moving in soldiers who are stationed in hotels around regional areas, which will save time and money for troops in local hotels who have to travel 30 minutes to an hour to get to the border.
In total the project is estimated to save over $11 million a month.
“We estimate that once this base camp is full and we have everybody out of those hotels and the three base camps shut down, we will save $11.5 million a month on housing soldiers,” said Adjunct Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer. “And that doesn’t even include the fuel they’re using right now to drive and get to the border.”
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