Gov. Greg Abbott under fire for problems with National Guard deployed at border

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is facing backlash from his Democrat and Republican opponents over what the Wall Street Journal called a ‘bungling’ of his deployment of the National Guard to the border under his signature border program, Operation Lone Star.

Earlier this month Abbott’s political challenger, Allen West, told reporters in a news conference that the National Guard members deployed to the border as part of Abbott’s plan to curb border crossings were experiencing poor working conditions, exposure to COVID-19, late pay, and a rise in suicides among members.

“This falls squarely on the shoulders of the person that ordered the commencement of Operation Lone Star and that’s you, Gov. Abbott,” West said.

According to WSJ, “The deployment was hasty, Guardsmen say. Some stationed on the border say they have little to do, which is leading to low morale. As well, the state has been slow to pay them, Guardsmen say.” The Army reported four officer suicides in only two months among the 10,000 troops deployed to the Texas-Mexico border.

Abbott has touted the success of Operation Lone Star in spite of all the criticism it has received. He told an audience earlier this month at a local town hall, “We’re setting all-time records on the number of people who are coming across the border. It was approaching, across the entire border region, close to 2 million people who came across the border this past year.”