Texas governor building military "base camp" near border to deter migrants

The facility - dubbed Forward Operating Base Eagle - will be an 80-acre complex along the banks of the Rio Grande and house up to 1,800 troops, with the ability to expand to 2,300, Reuters reports quoting Governor Greg Abbott as saying.

Record numbers of migrants have crossed illegally into the United States since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, including several million crossing into Texas. Abbott has deployed thousands of state-controlled National Guard troops to deter migrants and built a makeshift border wall in Eagle Pass out of shipping containers and concertina wire.

U.S. immigration enforcement historically has been the responsibility of the federal government and Abbott's moves to secure the border have triggered legal standoffs with Biden's administration.

The new military base will be six miles south of Shelby Park, a city-owned area that the state of Texas has commandeered in an effort to block migrants.

"Because of the magnitude of what we're doing, because of the need to sustain and actually expand our efforts ... it's essential that we build this base camp," Abbott said.

The camp will allow Texas to "amass a large army in a very strategic area" and "increase the speed and flexibility of the Texas National Guard to be able to respond to crossings," Abbott said.

The base camp will feature a 700-person dining facility, on-site movie theatres, workout areas and medical services, officials said. The state also intends to install more barriers north and south of Shelby Park, they said.