Texas Governor Signs Order to Deploy Border Troops

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

R i c k P e r r y

For Immediate Release
Governor’s Press Office
June 2, 2006

Perry Signs MOU to Authorize National Guard Troops on Border

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) authorizing the deployment of National Guard Troops to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of Operation Jump Start, under which the troops will support federal border security officers. The Governors of Arizona, California and New Mexico have also signed the MOU.

“The National Guard is already a part of Texas’ border security strategy, Operation Rio Grande, which brings together federal, state and local law enforcement and the National Guard to conduct joint operations to better protect Texans from border-related crime and violence,” Perry said. In February, Perry launched Operation Rio Grande, a comprehensive border security strategy that gives the state a leading role in coordinating intelligence and law enforcement assets within an 80,000 square mile region.

National Guard troops operating in Texas as part of Operation Jump Start will remain under Perry’s command, although the federal government will cover the cost of the mission. Troop activities may include detection and monitoring, engineering, transportation, logistics, vehicle dismantling, analysis, road building and language support. The temporary deployment is expected to be phased out as new Border Patrol agents are hired.

Operation Jump Start planners immediately will be dispatched to the border to lay the groundwork for the full deployment of guard troops. About 2,300 Texas guardsmen and airmen are expected to be involved, although troop levels and deployment details are still being finalized.

“The Texas-Mexico border is becoming an increasingly dangerous and violent place for peace officers and the citizens they protect. We are pleased that we will soon have more resources and personnel to address the border threat,” Perry said. “However, we will continue to urge Congress to meet its long term responsibility, and provide the manpower and resources to secure our border.”

The Department of Homeland Security announced this week that it has cut homeland security funding for Texas – the state with the longest international border – by 31 percent from last year. Perry said this funding disparity, combined with continued federal inaction “jeopardizes our security and reinforces my belief that Texas must never wait for Washington to act.”

On Thursday, Perry announced Texas will soon provide additional funding for local law enforcement along the border, seek a long-term financial commitment from the Texas Legislature to support ongoing border security operations, and create a virtual border watch program.

A copy of the MOU is available at
http://www.governor.state.tx.us.

News8 Austin

Camp Mabry gears up for border deployment
6/2/2006 1:35 PM
[Note: actually this story was running Thursday afternoon–gm]

By: Allie Rasmus

Plans are being finalized to send Texas National Guard troops to the U.S./Mexico border as part of Operation Jump Start.

Guard leaders don’t know exactly when they’ll deploy or how many will be needed, but officials at Camp Mabry in Central Austin expect to go sometime this summer to support the U.S. Border Patrol.

Col. Bill Meehan said a handful of planners from the Texas guard are already at the border.

There’s no set date on when the mission will start because the state and federal government still have some details to work out. Gov. Rick Perry’s office said a contract between the state and federal government is in final planning stages.

The federal government is responsible for the funding, but Perry made it clear he doesn’t want to give up control of the guardsmen. So now the state and federal government need to work out a contract on exactly what the National Guard will do at the border. Col. Meehan has a general idea.

“We expect to be supporting with aircraft for transportation. We expect to be fixing roads, working on equipment,” he said.

Some immigration groups are worried about keeping a National Guard military presence at the border. But Meehan doesn’t view their presence as militaristic.

“We are citizen soldiers from the Lone Star State. We’re from here, and we’re going to be doing this mission in our own neighborhoods,” Meehan said.

It’s not clear how many of the 6,000 National Guardsmen at the border will come from Texas. Texas spans 65 percent of the U.S./Mexico border.

While questions linger on the number of troops, Texas isn’t waiting to dedicate more money to border patrol. Perry announced a new three-part plan to fill gaps in border security.

The plan will provide $20 million for law enforcement and also seek a long-term financial commitment from the state legislature to support border security operations.

Perry also wants to place surveillance video cameras on private ranches along the border in known hot spots for crossings.

He compared the effort to a neighborhood watch program. He said the Texas Department of Public Safety would have access to the cameras but gave no details on the number of cameras or how far apart they would be placed.

He estimated the cost at $5 million and said Texas citizens and law enforcement will be able to monitor video footage. It will include night vision and will be posted on the Internet in real time.

Perry said he’ll allocate $20 million in this two-year budget cycle to continue Operation Rio Grande, an ongoing border security plan. That money will pay for officer overtime and equipment.

Perry said he’ll ask the Texas Legislature next year to authorize $100 million to continue the operation.