Governor Greg Abbott (R) of Texas unveiled plans on Friday to construct a National Guard base camp in Eagle Pass, Texas, near the Rio Grande. The camp could house up to 1,800 soldiers.
Each thirty days, an additional 300 beds will be added to the structure, and the initial phase is projected to be finished by April. In addition, three command posts, weapon storage chambers, and a helicopter pad will be included.
“We are building a new Texas Military Department base camp that allows the Texas National Guard to increase and to improve operations in this area,” Abbott said during a press conference.
“This will increase the ability for a larger number of Texas Military Department soldiers in Eagle Pass to operate more effectively and efficiently. Before now, the Texas National Guard had been scattered across this entire region in cramped quarters, away from fellow soldiers, and sometimes traveling long distances to do their job. This base camp is going to dramatically improve conditions for our soldiers.” he continued.
In the midst of a recent impasse between the Biden administration and Abbott regarding the management of the southern border and migrant crisis, the announcement was made.
It appeared that the Texas National Guard continued constructing the barriers despite a recent Supreme Court ruling permitting federal border agents to remove barbed wire along the river separating the United States and Mexico.
A week prior to Abbott’s announcement, a bipartisan border agreement in Congress failed due to strong opposition from former President Trump, whom the governor strongly supported for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in November.
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