© 2025 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Texas National Guard soldiers can now make immigration arrests at the border

Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Lucas Jackson
/
Reuters
Gov. Greg Abbott

Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.

Texas National Guardsmen are now authorized to make immigration arrests at the border, based on an agreement between the state and the Trump administration.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Friday. The memo was released Sunday, and according to the governor, arrests can be made, "effective immediately."

The guardsmen are required to be accompanied by Border Patrol agents.

"This boosts manpower for border security," Abbott wrote in a post on social media to describe the collaboration between the CBP and the Texas National Guard.

For years, Governor Greg Abbott had tried unsuccessfully to deputize state and local law enforcement to make immigration arrests, something the Trump administration now supports.

Joseph Nunn, council at the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, said the agreement may fall under a federal law that permits state and local law enforcement to assist with immigration enforcement.

However, Nunn added that the federal statute does not specify the use of state guard for such a purpose, and he questions the legality of the MOU.

"This is a law enforcement issue. This is not a military problem," Nunn said. "Soldiers, including the Texas National Guard, are trained to be soldiers. They're not trained to be immigration enforcement agents."

Nunn expressed concern at the military being used more at the border, something he and other civil rights advocates have challenged.

The Trump Administration has suggested the expanded federal military effort at the border may be modeled on "Operation Lone Star," a Texas National Guard mission that's been underway for four years.

"The continued use of military personnel for immigration enforcement and the expansion of that use presents a lot of problems," Nunn explained. "It continues to be a drain on military resources and a distraction from the military's core national security responsibilities."

Immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said it remains the duty of Congress to pass immigration reform.

"This is a nation that actually has a need for immigrant labor on all levels of the skill spectrum. And if we could have Congress pass immigration reform that would respond to the needs of our economy, things would calm down around immigration everywhere," Lincoln-Goldfinch explained. "But until we get that immigration reform, we're going to be continuing to see more money spent and more stories about enforcement when it's not even the answer to all of this."

TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your gift of support today.

Gabriella Alcorta-Solorio is a reporter for Texas Public Radio. She recently graduated from Texas State University with a major in journalism, minoring in women’s studies. She has previously worked as a photojournalist with The Ranger and has reported on Alzheimer’s and dementia in South Texas using public health data. Her main focuses include reporting on health as well as military and veterans issues. Alcorta-Solorio is a U.S. Army veteran.