EAGLE PASS, Texas (NewsNation) — The Texas Military Department has unveiled the new “Forward Operating Base” outside of the border community of Eagle Pass to house up to 2,300 National Guard members.
The base is part of the state’s “Operation Lone Star.”
The 80-acre property is located along the Rio Grande and a short distance from the contested Shelby Park, an area that has been closed off for months. Personnel are in the process of installing more razor wire along the U.S. side of the river.
The roughly $131 million facility is expected to house Texas National Guard and Texas State Guard soldiers, with the capability to expand. The cost covers operations through September.
The facility offers a range of amenities, including a dining hall, gym and library. It will also have a secured weapons storage area.
Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott says despite migrant encounter numbers trending downward, authorities fear that if they back off, the cartels will just come surging back.
“The people who are in charge of bringing people across the border illegally are the drug cartels,” Abbott said. “The moment that we ratchet back the resistance that Texas has at the moment, the cartels will start shifting migrants away from Arizona and New Mexico and shift them right back into the state of Texas. And so we can not relent in our security of the border.”