Texas law enforcement did not ask Perry for National Guard deployment, officials say
Texas law enforcement did not ask Perry for National Guard deployment, officials say
By Brian M. Rosenthal
July 29, 2014 | Updated: July 29, 2014 8:28pm
http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/27/02/36...5/784x2048.jpgMayra Beltran, Staff
Texas National Guard instructors demonstrate in 2009 how to clear a room in Urban Operation training at Camp Swift in Bastrop.
AUSTIN – Neither the Texas National Guard nor the state Department of Public Safety asked Gov. Rick Perry to deploy the guard to help the department fight crime on the southern border, the leaders of the groups told a special legislative committee Tuesday.
Adjutant General John Nichols and DPS Director Steve McCraw also told the state House Select Committee on the Fiscal Impact of Texas Border Support Operations that they did not know why the governor chose 1,000 as the maximum number of guardsmen to send.
Perry's office declined to comment later Tuesday on whom the governor consulted before making the decision or how he chose the number.
Spokesman Travis Considine instead issued a statement saying in part that, "Gov. Perry said if the federal government will not act then Texas will; his decision to activate up to 1,000 members of the National Guard will serve to enhance surge operations that target criminal activity and deter illegal immigration."
Nichols and McCraw told lawmakers that they support the deployment as a way to reduce crime and illegal immigration as Border Patrol agents deal with a flood of unaccompanied children from Central America. But their uncertainty about some aspects of Perry's decision provided an opening for skeptical Democrats to question the plan in the committee's first meeting.
Led by Houston Democrat Sylvester Turner, the critics used the hearing packed with officials, reporters and cameras to grill Nichols and McCraw on the costs, goals, effectiveness and necessity of "Operation Strong Safety," the name of the surge in DPS officers set to soon be augmented by National Guard troops.
"What is the cost-benefit analysis to the state of Texas of having the surge...when there are other tremendous needs like transportation in this state?" Turner asked McCraw at one point as part of a long line of questions.
Committee chairman Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, came to the operation's defense, citing state data showing a decline in the number of illegal immigrants caught by DPS as the operation has gone on.
"I'm no expert, but I'm not aware of any foreign policy changes (before the decline)," Bonnen said testily. "I would argue that clearly an impact is being heard by the surge."
"I don't see the connection," said Turner, noting some border sheriffs have said they have not seen any change in crime and some experts have attributed the decline in border crossings to more publicity about the issue.
The meeting marked the Legislature's first substantive discussion on this summer's surge, which has become a top issue at the Capitol and attracted national attention.
Operation Strong Safety started in response to a rise in unaccompanied minors illegally crossing the border. Nearly 60,000 of them have come in the past nine months, double the number who crossed last year.
Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus agreed last month to increase spending by about $1.3 million per week to send more DPS officers to the border.
While officials have declined to quantify the number of DPS officers involved, McCraw of DPS said Tuesday the surge has spurred an increase of nearly 13,400 man days since June 18 – a daily average of about 327 officers.
Officials said the operation had immediate results – apprehensions of illegal immigrants in the surge area dropped from 6,600 in its first week to 4,200 in the third, according to Perry's office.
DPS is aiming to reduce the number to 2,000 per week, McCraw said Tuesday. Perry's office declined to comment on that goal.
The governor announced last week he was activating up to 1,000 guardsmen to support DPS. The Guard's Nichols said Tuesday those troops start arriving for 90-day rotations next month after undergoing a week and a half to two weeks of training, including Spanish classes.
Nichols also emphasized at the meeting the guardsmen will not have the authority to arrest anyone but instead will make referrals to DPS. The troops will also provide aerial surveillance, perform administrative tasks to free up DPS officers and stand ready to provide humanitarian assistance, the general said.
Some Democrats have compared the National Guard deployment to a "militarization" of the border, a characterization Perry has rejected. But the governor seemed to provide ammunition to his critics when he said on a Tuesday conference call hosted by the New Hampshire Republican Party that questions about how long the guardsmen would stay at the border were similar to asking "when you want to leave the battlefield."
Perry also said on the call that, "we're going to spend whatever we need in the state of Texas to protect our citizens. That's what we expect and that's what we will do."
DPS has so far spent $5.8 million on the surge, including $4.4 million in overtime for officers and $800,000 in helicopter and fuel costs. The National Guard deployment is expected to cost $12 million per month.
It is unclear where that money will come from. State officials are hoping the federal government will reimburse those costs, and Attorney General Greg Abbott has indicated his office is prepared to sue if necessary. But Nichols said Tuesday that federal officials have given no sign that they intend to do so.
Two federal agencies also did not respond to Bonnen's invitation to attend Tuesday's hearing, the chairman said.
Staff reporter Patrick Svitek contributed to this report.
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