McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — About 300 Texas National Guard are headed to the South Texas border town of Laredo, according to Border Patrol.
Laredo Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jesse Muñoz on Friday told the Laredo Morning Times that over 300 Texas National Guard soldiers will arrive in the Laredo Sector within a month to enhance border security.
The new troops will be allowed to perform immigration officer duties under the supervision of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. This is under a new memorandum of understanding between CBP and the Texas National Guard that allows some in-state active-duty soldiers the authority to question immigration status under Title 8.
“Under Title 8, they will have the authority to make arrests, but I want everybody to understand. We are not going to tell them, ‘Hey you guys go and take this area,’ and we don’t put Border Patrol agents out,” Muñoz told the Laredo Morning Times. ““They are going to work under direct supervision of the Border Patrol. If there’s a case where they make an apprehension, there will be Border Patrol agents close by that will come and assist.”
Last week, Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar issued a statement that U.S. residents should take precautions when traveling into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, which is across the Rio Grande from Laredo.
On Feb. 3, there were several reports of gunfire incidents in Nuevo Laredo, and even close to an international bridge, the newspaper reported.
Cuellar deployed Operation Lone Star resources, which include Texas National Guard troops and DPS troopers, near the international bridge and Laredo College to maintain a visible presence on the border, the newspaper reported.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week visited Sunland Park, New Mexico, where he said the thousands of troops coming to the Southwest border will be a “force multiplier” for immigration agents.
“What President Trump has done – whether it’s Border Patrol, (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or the military – is it’s going to take the handcuffs off our ability to do our job,” Hegseth told reporters. “And that allows us to get at the problem in ways the previous administration was not serious about.”
This was Hegseth’s first trip to the border while in office. He came with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, who was formerly the Texas Border Czar.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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