Texas Governor Greg Abbott authorized President Donald Trump to sends hundreds of members of the Texas National Guard to sanctuary states.
“I fully authorized the President to call up 400 members of the Texas National Guard to ensure safety for federal officials,” Abbot wrote in response to a statement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. “You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it.”
“No Guard can match the training, skill, and expertise of the Texas National Guard,” he wrote. “They defend our country with pride. America must also know that Texas still has thousands of National Guard assisting with the Border security.”
Prizker said on Sunday evening that the Texas National Guard’s presence in Illinois, Oregon, and other states is an “invasion.”
“It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops,” the Democrat governor condemned. “I call on Governor Abbott to immediately withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate. There is no reason a President should send military troops into a sovereign state without their knowledge, consent, or cooperation.”
The matter comes as War Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum to Abbott’s office for the authorization of the National Guard members. It stated that President Trump “determined that violent incidents, as well as the credible threat of continued violence, are impeding the execution of the laws of the United States in Illinois, Oregon, and other locations throughout the United States.”
