SHREVEPORT, La. — Fifty Louisiana National Guard members were sent to Texas as part of a border security operation, according to an Army National Guard release on Friday.
"This is the first of three rotations that the LANG will support, with each rotation lasting approximately 30 days," a Louisiana National Guard official said on Friday.
This announcement comes a month after Gov. Jeff Landry pledged to support Texas' effort to ramp up security on the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Texas has always been a great neighbor to us," Gov. Landry said in February. "And if they're calling then we should heed that particular call."
The fifty soldiers are from a squadron based out of Shreveport, which is located near the Texas border.
Operation Lone Star was launched by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas in 2021 to, "repel illegal crossings, arrest human smugglers and cartel gang members and stop the flow of deadly drugs like fentanyl into our nation."
Since then, 13 Republican governors, including Landry and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, have pledged support for Abbott's plan.
Some Democratic House Members have opposed Gov. Abbott's efforts at the border. In a letter signed by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) and 87 other U.S. House Democrats, including Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.), representatives asked President Joe Biden to intervene to stop Operation Lone Star.
"In addition to directly threatening the lives of migrants, we are concerned that Operation Lone Star is impeding federal immigration enforcement," the letter read.
In January, Gov. Abbott restricted U.S. Border Patrol from entering a park along the U.S.-Mexico border, relying instead increasingly on state law enforcement and National Guard units. Biden administration officials condemned those actions by Abbott.
"Texas has demonstrated that even in the most exigent circumstances, it will not allow Border Patrol agents access to the border to conduct law enforcement and emergency response activities," a U.S. Homeland Security Department official said in January.