Gov. Abbott says Texas National Guard now has authority to arrest illegal aliens

The Texas National Guard will be granted authority to arrest illegal immigrants, according to a report from Breitbart News.

The report cited a memorandum of understanding between the state of Texas and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Under the terms of the agreement, National Guard members can arrest illegal immigrants as long as the officers are in contact with immigration officials at all times.

'Effective immediately. This boosts man power for border security.'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) confirmed the Breitbart report on his official social media account.

"In an agreement I signed between Texas and Trump's Customs and Border Protection, the Texas National Guard is granted the power of immigration officials to make immigration arrests," wrote Abbott. "Effective immediately. This boosts man power for border security."

The MOU said that the preliminary ratio of National Guard soldiers to immigration officials was four to one. The report said 3,000 Texas Army National Guard soldiers would be added to the coalition enforcing immigration law.

A spokesperson for the American Immigration Council told the Texas Tribune that the policy would likely face challenges in court.

"It's written in a way to encompass a very broad set of immigration authorities, which means you could imagine the Texas National Guard trying itself not just to make immigration arrests or put people into immigration proceedings but to actually effectuate the full removal from the country," said police director Nayna Gupta. "This is absolutely an unprecedented invocation of authority."

Abbott was one of the governors who bused illegal aliens from his state to self-declared "sanctuary cities" like New York City. The effort forced many Democratic governors and mayors to reverse course on their opposition to deportation efforts by federal immigration officials.

More about the policy can be viewed on the news video report from Newsmax on YouTube.

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