Thread: Patrick Seeks $12 Million to Keep Texas National Guard At Border

by Sarah Rumpf
10 Feb 2015
Austin, TX

In a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced that he is seeking $12 million to continue the border surge of Texas National Guard troops through May. They are currently scheduled to leave next month, and have been scaling back their numbers.

As Breitbart Texas reported, former Governor Rick Perry had ordered a surge of Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers and deployed 1,000 Guard troops to the border last year in response to the thousands of families and unaccompanied minor children, mostly from Central America, who were crossing the border illegally.

According to Patrick, the surge had had a positive impact on border security, with an increased number of apprehensions of illegal immigrants. “The word got out, that Texas was serious about securing our border,” he said. “You don’t stop doing something that’s working.”

Patrick also said that the Mexican drug cartels are “ramping up,” knowing that the Guard was scheduled to leave the border soon. He also predicted that President Barack Obama’s plan to grant amnesty to millions of immigrants illegally in this country would lead to a new surge of people crossing the border this spring and summer. “Under no circumstance should we have a complete pullout of the National Guard next month,” he said. “We have that money and we need to spend that money to keep the Guard there.”

Texas’ border security challenges are exacerbated by the federal government’s failures, said Patrick, but he added that Texas would do what was necessary to keep its people safe. “The Texas taxpayers are having to bear the brunt of this,” said Patrick. “It’s their responsibility but it’s our problem.”

In November of last year, Perry, along with Speaker of the House Joe Straus and former Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, had announced a plan to fund the border surge for several months, to maintain a steady presence on the border as the new legislative session began and the newly elected state leaders took office. That plan directed approximately $86 million in surplus funds from several different state accounts, as Breitbart Texas reported, including disaster relief funds that had gone unused, money earmarked for debt service that was not spent due to lower-than-expected interest rates, and remaining emerging technology funds.

The current version of the Texas Senate budget already includes $815 million for border security, which Patrick described as funding those efforts at “the highest levels in history.” In addition, Patrick said that he will be working to get the Legislature to pass a supplemental bill that would fund Guard deployments through August.

State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) expressed reservations about Patrick’s plan, telling The Texas Tribune that while he supported the DPS surge, he did not believe that the Guard troops were helpful. “I don’t think it’s effective to have thousands of guardsmen on the border. I think it’s counterproductive,” said Hinojosa, adding that he preferred that the money for the Guard deployment be redirected to DPS.

Grassroots activists have also been skeptical of the state’s border security efforts, as Breitbart Texas has reported. One of their chief complaints has been the focus of attention and resources on the Rio Grande Valley Sector, which covers only about a quarter of the Texas border, leaving hundreds of miles still vulnerable.

Patrick left immediately after the press conference without taking any questions. It remains to be seen how many Guard troops will remain at the border, or if their duties or regions where they are deployed will change. As Breitbart Texas reported, the Guard troops have been serving a supportive role for DPS, with the Guard acting as a “force multiplier” to “deter and refer” any observed attempts at illegal border crossing to DPS, who would then be responsible for actually detaining and arresting people. He did say that the “long term plan” was to draw down the Guard troops and replace them with DPS officers.

Breitbart Texas reached out to Governor Greg Abbott’s office for comment on Patrick’s announcement but did not receive a reply as of press time. Patrick said during the press conference that he had discussed border security with Abbott many times, and that the two “stood shoulder to shoulder on border security.”

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/...ard-at-border/

Give him the money, Texas, give him the money, to keep the National Guard on the Borders. Don't think twice, just do it. In fact, give him $25 million so he has a full year's worth of funds. Of all the money that federal taxpayers pour into Texas, the least you can do is use this little tiny piece of it to secure your state boundary from illegal entry and crossings and thereby protect the citizens who have handed your state so much.

by Sarah Rumpf
11 Feb 2015
Austin, TX

Texas’ top statewide officials are not seeing eye to eye on the critical issue of border security. Public statements by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) and Speaker of the House Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) seemed to indicate static between the leaders of the two chambers of the Legislature, and Breitbart Texas was unable to confirm if Patrick, Straus, or Governor Greg Abbott had communicated with each other before a press conference held by Patrick on Tuesday at the Capitol.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Patrick announced he was seeking $12 million to continue the deployment of the Texas National Guard to the border through May, as Breitbart Texas reported. The Guard had originally been deployed by former Texas Governor Rick Perry after a surge of families and unaccompanied minor children crossed the border illegally last summer. Then, in November, Perry, along with former Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and then finally Straus, had come to an agreement for a plan to fund deployment of the Guard through March.

During the press conference, Patrick predicted that President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty granting relief from deportation for millions of illegal immigrants would result in a new surge of people crossing the border this spring and summer, and said that “under no circumstance should we have a complete pullout of the National Guard next month.”

Then, shortly after Patrick’s press conference, Straus released a statement criticizing Patrick for stepping out in front of the issue, as reported by The Quorum Report, “I appreciate Governor Patrick’s remarks,” said Straus. “But, Governor Abbott is the Commander in Chief and he will decide whether to extend the National Guard’s deployment.”

Patrick’s language during the press conference may have revealed some of the underlying tension between him and Straus. Patrick twice mentioned that he was standing “shoulder to shoulder with” Abbott on border security, but only said that he would “work with” Straus on the issue. For example, at about the six minute mark of the video of the press conference posted at the Texas Senate website, Patrick says, “We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Governor and we’ll work with the Speaker to supply that funding to keep them there so that they do not end their deployment in March.” Arguably, this could be interpreted as Patrick’s opinion that he is not in as close agreement with Straus as he is with Abbott on how best to secure the border, but that he will “work with” Straus on that.

“Straus has been the state leader dragging his feet on this issue,” said Breitbart Texas’ Bob Price, noting how Straus had been the last to agree to November’s plan to extend the border surge, whereas Patrick had publicly stated his support for the plan at that time.

Intriguingly, Breitbart Texas has been unable to get any confirmation that Patrick reached out to either Straus or Abbott’s office before making his announcement today, despite reaching out to all three offices multiple times.

An inquiry made to Patrick’s office received an email response from Keith Elkins in his Press Office: “Lt. Governor Dan Patrick meets regularly with Speaker Joe Straus and, like he said in his remarks during the news conference today, he looks forward to working with him and the Governor to fund border security.” Elkins also included some quotes from the press conference but never directly answered the question whether or not Straus or Abbott had been contacted prior to Patrick’s press conference.

So far, Abbott has not made any public comment about Patrick’s press conference. When Breitbart Texas contacted the Governor’s Press Office, we were told that they had received “a number of requests for comment on Lt. Gov. Patrick’s speech,” and would respond soon. Other sources close to the Governor would not confirm whether or not Patrick had reached out to them before the press conference. In the past, Abbott has made public statements supporting the border surge, although obviously not regarding the specific plan Patrick mentioned on Tuesday.

Likewise, Breitbart Texas reached out to Straus’ spokesman Jason Embry, who also would neither confirm nor deny if Patrick had reached out to their office before announcing his plan.

Breitbart Texas will continue to follow this story.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/...security-plan/