Texas National Guard soldiers deployed this week to El Paso and began the placement of razor wire along a common crossing area. The wire is designed to deter migrants from crossing the Rio Grande from Juarez to El Paso.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of approximately 400 National Guard soldiers to El Paso following a request for assistance from city officials, Breitbart Texas reported. The mayor issued a disaster declaration over the weekend in response to the massive increase in migrants released into the community by federal officials.
A video published by El Paso Matters shows the guardsmen deploying razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande in an area where migrants have been crossing in large numbers.
The deployment of the wire is the first step for the guardsmen in their mission to deter and turn back migrants crossing the border from Mexico.
Border Patrol officials released more than 10,000 migrants into El Paso during the past week. This left many of the migrants sleeping on the streets in freezing weather conditions as shelters closed due to overcrowding.
A statement from the Texas Military Department states the National Guard deployed the 606th Military Police Battalion to “safeguard the border and repel and turn-back illegal immigrants.” The soldiers are being deployed under Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star border security mission.
A dashboard published by the City of El Paso indicates that Border Patrol agents continue to apprehend nearly 1,600 migrants per day. More than 600 are being released to the city on a daily basis.
A court-ordered end of Title 42 this week was put on hold by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday. The justice ordered the hold while the court decides if it will hear the appeal brought by Republican attorneys general from 19 states.
Despite the hold by the Supreme Court, city and state officials continue to plan for a massive migrant surge all along the Texas-Mexico border, a state official told Breitbart Monday night.