AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? National Guard troops sent to the Texas-Mexico border last summer are now in line to stay indefinitely and not come home in March as originally planned, Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday.
The shift comes only four weeks after Rick Perry, who ordered 1,000 armed guard troops to the Rio Grande Valley in one of his last major acts as Texas governor, was replaced by a successor who has promised an even tougher line on border security.
Gov. Greg Abbott did not attend the announcement and no plans have been formalized. But an extended guard deployment is the latest signal that Texas' new conservative leadership is planning record state spending on border security, even while acknowledging that illegal crossings have slowed dramatically.
Patrick, who also took office in January, would not say how many guard troops would remain. He said maintaining the mission through May would cost an extra $12 million, and that he expects Abbott to call for emergency spending to keep the guard on the border through August.
National Guard troops sent to the Texas-Mexico border to stay indefinitely | Fox News Latino