Gov. Abbott deploys special unit to Texas-Mexico border
More border security enhancements
Gov. Abbott deployed members of a special National Guard unit to the border. The move comes as a leading democrat in the state house filed a bill to strengthen another border action by the governor.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed a special National Guard unit to the US-Mexico border on Monday.
Texas Tactical Border Force deployed to border
The Texas Tactical Border Force was called from military installations in Houston and Fort Worth to the border.
400 members from the unit made the trip.
The specialized National Guard unit just completed a training exercise last week on how to repel a surge of migrants trying to cross the border.
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The Texas team will apparently fill in gaps on the border until additional federal resources arrive.
A new deployment of state troopers is also expected. Governor Abbott says details on that will be coming soon.
What they're saying:
"Texas has a partner in the White House we can work with to secure the Texas-Mexico border," said Governor Abbott in a statement. "To support that mission, today, I deployed the Texas Tactical Border Force, comprised of hundreds of troops, to work side-by-side with U.S. Border Patrol agents to stop illegal immigrants from entering our country and to enforce immigration laws."
"I think the governor can move more quickly than the federal government, and I think probably that's part of why he's doing it," said Texas Rep. Richard Raymond (D-Laredo).
More border buoys placed in Rio Grande

Governor Greg Abbott's Office also released video on social media of more border buoys going into the Rio Grande.
The backstory:
The buoys were a point of contention between Texas and the Biden Administration.
The federal government sued Texas in 2023 to get the floating barriers removed, claiming it violated federal law.
A district court initially sided with the Biden Administration, but it was overruled by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In November, Abbott announced that the state would expand the length of the floating barriers in Eagle Pass.
Texas requests $11.1B reimbursement from federal government
Last week, Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to Congressional leaders to call for the federal government to pay back $11.1 billion that was spent on Operation Lone Star.

Rep. Raymond filed HB 1544, which provides teeth to the request the governor made.
"I think we should get that money back," said Rep. Raymond.
Raymond's bill sets the amount at $20 billion.
Another bill from Raymond, HB 1543, requires Attorney General Ken Paxton to send an invoice for the state's border security efforts to the federal government. If it isn't paid, legal action is authorized.
"Why not? No, I think, you know, there's an argument whether or not they'll respond to a lawsuit from the from the attorney general. But I think that clearly, our attorney general has sued the federal government many times. And so, I think that I think that he should and I think that they'll respond," said Raymond.
It is estimated that in the past four years, Texas has spent about $11 billion, but the amount is actually higher, because state border deployments date back to the Obama administration, when Rick Perry was governor.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Office of Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Richard Raymond and past FOX coverage.