South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
‘Basically mall cops on the border’
Texas Guard troops irked over mission that lacks real aim
McALLEN, Texas — After thousands of migrants crossed into Del Rio, Texas, last year and overwhelmed authorities, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered thousands of National Guard troops to the border, expanding their role in a mission known as Operation Lone Star.
For most called up, the service was mandatory, came on short notice and went from a tour of a few months to a yearlong deployment for a mission that Abbott has said is necessary to deter illegal migration, human smuggling and drug trafficking.
But many ordered to the border have complained of poor planning, pay problems and a lack of basic equipment. There have been COVID-19 outbreaks on hastily created bases.
Hundreds sought waivers because of the mission’s uncertain length and the disruptions it would create for their families and were denied. In some cases, arrest warrants were issued for those who failed to report for duty.
“This is just ridiculous. You’re playing with my life and my family’s life,” said Hugo Brito, a 20-year guard veteran who said he decided to retire because of the border activation.
The complaints have prompted more than a dozen Democratic members of Congress from Texas to call for an investigation of the border mission by the guard’s inspector general and have drawn criticism from Abbott’s Republican primary challengers, including Allen West, a former Army officer and former chair of the Texas Republican Party, and Beto O’Rourke, the most prominent Democratic candidate for governor.
Abbott has made his law-and-order approach to the border a centerpiece of his campaign, officially announcing his run for reelection this month in McAllen, a predominantly Hispanic border city. His first television ad, sponsored by the National Border Patrol Council, began airing last week and highlighted the National Guard deployment.
“Texas had no choice but to step up and address this crisis in the wake of President Biden’s and congressional Democrats’ inaction,” said Nan Tolson, a spokesperson for the governor. “Texas will do whatever it takes to secure our southern border and protect Texans in President Biden’s absence.”
The general in charge of the mission, Brig. Gen. Monie Ulis, responded to guard members’ concerns with a letter, acknowledging that there were “still numerous pay issues” and that the lodging remained “austere.”
He said that after a record number of illegal crossings, Abbott had been “forced to declare a state of emergency,” which authorized the mobilization of the guard to support state police on the border. To date, he said, their presence had prevented drugs from crossing the border and helped alert the federal authorities to tens of thousands of illegal migrants.
The activation of the National Guard in Texas — some of whose roughly 24,000 members had been engaged in responding to the pandemic — is expected to cost the state $2 billion this year, a spokesperson for the Texas Military Department said.
As part of the mission, guard members have created observation posts — usually consisting of soldiers with a Humvee — along the border, a presence meant to deter illegal crossings. They have also helped local officials and border agents with apprehensions.
Still, to many who are engaged in it, the mission has appeared ill-defined and politically motivated, according to interviews with 10 current and former guard members, a review of internal documents and a lengthy recording of a virtual town hall led by senior commanders this month.
“We’re having to build in-flight,” Maj. Gen. Charles Aris said during the town hall with commanders and sergeants and confirmed by text message. “I’m somewhat hopeful that maybe in November that we’ll have gotten a handle on this and it could downsize, and maybe before. But right now I’m not planning on it.”
A recent morale survey of Texas Guard members assigned to Operation Lone Star surfaced concerns about delayed or incorrect pay and poor housing, as well as doubts about the purpose of their deployments.
Even for veteran soldiers, including those with overseas military experience, the forced and rapid deployment has appeared at odds with the nature of the work.
“All we’re doing is standing down here,” said one active member whose job is to operate a fixed post near Brownsville. “We don’t even have the equipment to detain anyone — cuffs or anything like that.” He requested anonymity to avoid possible discipline for speaking out.
The soldier added, “If someone comes up, we ask them to stop and wait; we call Border Patrol. If someone runs, we call Border Patrol. We’re basically mall cops on the border.”
The U.S. Border Patrol has been overwhelmed by the number of crossings — more than 1.7 million across the Southwest borders last year, with a critical point coming in mid-September, when thousands of migrants huddled under the international bridge in Del Rio.
The governor has declined to say how long Texas would keep thousands of National Guard members along the border. “Part of what is going to happen going forward depends upon what the Biden administration does,” Abbott said this month.
Aris said soldiers could expect to spend 365 days on the border mission and that there would likely be two yearlong “turns.”
“Typically, when you’re called out for state active duty, it’s for a short time, usually a few days or weeks,” said Jason Featherston, who retired from the Texas Army National Guard last year as its top enlisted member. “For this mission, if you had a warm pulse, they were sending you to the border. They didn’t care what your issues were.”
Featherston has been outspoken in his criticism, angered by state cuts to tuition assistance for the guard last year as billions were allocated for the border mission.
Featherston and other soldiers said they also were disturbed by at least four recent suicides of guard members who had been called up for Operation Lone Star, though the reasons behind the suicides remained unclear. Suicides in the military represent a persistent crisis, with trauma and stress contributing to numbers that have climbed every year since 2001.
Featherston said soldiers’ well-being was being put at risk by the vagueness of the mission and its apparent lack of advance planning.
“I believe we should be on the border, but you’ve got to give them a purpose,” Featherston said. “A lot of people think this is a publicity stunt.”