NEW ORLEANS — Governor Jeff Landry said tentatively Thursday that Louisiana National Guard members could be deployed to the border in March. He added the date could be pushed up if Texas officials request the guardsmen sooner.
“Texas has always been a great neighbor to us,” he said, “and if they're calling then we should heed that particular call.”
At a press conference Thursday Governor Landry further explained the reasoning behind the deployment, which he announced the previous Sunday. He cited the flow of fentanyl across the southern border, which he called an “emergency.” He also referenced crime committed by undocumented immigrants in Kenner, though he did not offer statistics on the prevalence of it.
The guardsmen will be sent to Shelby Park, an area in the border town of Eagle Pass. Members of the Texas Military have been arresting migrants they claim are trespassing illegally and erecting razor wire barriers along the border. “The governor decided that he was going to start to plug the holes in the border, and he used the National Guard to do so,” Landry said Thursday.
The Texas guard members have also been blocking federal agents’ access to the area. The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government.
Sunday, Governor Landry and a dozen other GOP governors visited Eagle Pass with Texas Governor Greg Abbott. He and several other governors pledged to send their own National Guards to help Texas’ efforts.
Each state’s governor largely controls its National Guard, though the federal government does have some authority. Guard members are often sent to other states in emergencies. The details of the border deployment are still being decided on, said Gov. Landry, but he added that they will not be detaining any migrants themselves.
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