Landry joins La. troops on border, blasts Biden
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and a delegation of nine state lawmakers May 9 visited Louisiana National Guard troops deployed to the U.S. southern border in Texas, where they praised their home state’s soldiers and blasted Democratic President Joe Biden for what they contend are failed federal immigration policies.
“The missions our guardsman are performing are absolutely stemming the tide (of illegal border crossings),” Landry said on a conference call with reporters.
Landry said neither he nor the lawmakers spotted any illegal border crossings, but cited that as evidence the patrols are working.
“That’s the greatest part,” Landry said. “We see the work our National Guard is doing (and deployments from other states) is actually having an impact.”
Landry announced in February his intention to deploy troops to Texas at the request of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has escalated his effort to expand Texas’ authority in managing border security after accusing Biden of failing to uphold what is generally a federal responsibility.
It was a theme reiterated during the press conference.
Landry, a Republican, said Biden’s policies have been “irresponsible, reckless and dangerous.”
“We need to build the wall; we need to secure the border,” Landry said.
Louisiana’s current 50-troop deployment is the second of three platoons serving in one-month stretches that will be sent to the southern border in Texas at a state cost of $3 million. Landry said he will wait to hear from Abbott before deciding whether to extend Louisiana’s presence there.
“Texas has always responded when we needed help with natural disasters, and this is a crisis for Texas,” he said.
Among the lawmakers, all Republicans,
joining Landry was Sen. Stewart Cathey of Monroe, who said he was a skeptic before Thursday’s visit.
“After being here today, I was wrong on questioning the value; our soldiers are playing key roles in supporting Texas,” he said.
Winnfield Rep. Jack McFarland, chairman of the budget committee that controls the state’s purse strings, agreed.
“Without a doubt it was the right thing to do,” McFarland said. “It’s absolutely evident the presence of our soldiers have been very effective in reducing the number of (migrants illegally) crossing our southern border.”
Louisiana’s troops will continue to assist the Texas National Guard with patrols on the border to “prevent, detect and deter” illegal crossings, but they won’t detain any migrants crossing the border illegally.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.