Trump reportedly plans to send National Guard troops to Texas as part of ‘crime crackdown’

Parts of Texas could be the next targets of President Donald Trump’s much ballyhooed “crime crackdown” after Fox News reported Friday that he plans to deploy National Guard troops to 19 states in the coming weeks.

Indeed, Texas is reportedly slated to have the largest such deployment, according to British newspaper The Independent.

Although federal law limits military involvement in local law enforcement, the White House considers the pending deployment — confirmed via documents obtained by Fox News and an unnamed defense official who spoke to the right-wing news outlet – legal because troops would be serving under Title 32 Section 502F authority.

Under this clause, which gives National Guard deployment more flexible deployment guidelines, troops in Texas would remain under the command of Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican and MAGA adherent, but would be allowed to assist in certain federal missions.

Citing the unnamed official, the troops would carry out tasks including “personal data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing and photographing of personnel in ICE custody,” Fox News reports.

In a statement to the Current, Abbott press secretary Andrew Mahaleris confirmed the governor supports utilizing the Texas National Guard to aid in the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. However, he deferred questions about specifics of such an effort — including whether personnel could be dispatched to San Antonio — to the Department of Homeland Security.

“The Governor directed all state agencies to coordinate with the Trump Administration on border security, deployed Department of Public Safety tactical strike teams to support homeland security operations, and has entered into agreements with DHS that authorize the Texas National Guard to help enforce immigration law,” Mahaleris said. “Texas will continue to assist the Trump Administration in arresting, detaining, and deporting illegal immigrants.”
DHS officials were unavailable for immediate comment.

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ office didn’t respond to the Current’s questions about whether she’s been in contact with Abbott’s office or the Trump White House about the reported deployment.

Documents obtained by Fox News state that the troops will mobilize from August through mid-November.

Reports of Trump’s expanded deployment of National Guard troops come after the president last week placed more than 2,000 guardsmen in the District of Columbia. He said that deployment was an effort to combat runaway crime, even though the city’s violent crime rate has been in steady decline over recent years.

The D.C. deployment comes as Republicans face long odds in the 2026 midterms and the president’s voter approval numbers continue to plummet.

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This article appears in Aug 21 – Sep 2, 2025.