
As part of his administration’s broad Operation Lone Star initiative, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has implemented a host of strategies aimed at stemming the tide of illegal immigration into his state across the U.S.-Mexico border.
One of the most notable aspects of the mission has included devoting military resources to securing the border, and Abbott’s latest step in that direction involves plans for a new military base for National Guard troops near El Paso.
The El Paso Sector has been one of the most porous regions of the border throughout the Biden administration, and the governor has vowed to enforce security measures in the absence of such action on the federal level.
In an announcement on Friday, Abbott laid out the plans for the new military base in broad strokes, noting that it would occupy an 80-acre plot of land in the border town of Eagle Pass and have the capacity to house 1,800 soldiers — plus an additional 500 as necessary to address the border crisis.
“This will increase the ability for a larger number of Texas Military Department soldiers in Eagle Pass to operate more effectively and efficiently,” he said.
Progress is already underway, with the first 300 beds at the facility expected to be complete by April.
Abbott touted the significance of the base, which he said would allow state officials to “consolidate our forces, as opposed to being scattered around many different places across this region.”
Announcing today the construction of the Forward Operating Base in Eagle Pass.
This new base camp will help improve conditions for 1,800+ @TxMilitary soldiers deployed to protect Texans from the chaos at our southern border. #OperationLoneStar
More: https://t.co/Ts5QpXnYwm pic.twitter.com/RStn74gNrJ— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) February 16, 2024
He emphasized that this is just one piece of a much larger border strategy, which also includes installing concertina wire in strategic locations despite the Biden administration’s efforts to remove the barricades.
Explaining how the new base will support this goal, Abbott said: “This will organize substantial forces to expand the razor wire barriers that are going up. We have seen the effectiveness of the razor wire in Shelby Park, where crossings have gone from 3,000 to 5,000 a day to less than 1%.”
He concluded by crediting the “brave men and women of the Texas National Guard,” whom he said have made it possible to “respond to President Biden’s border crisis.”