TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD

Four members of the unit working on Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission have been punished after whistleblowers reported the surveillance operation violated long-standing rules against state-run spy operations.

The Texas Military Department confirmed Friday the National Guard member who is accused of shooting across the Rio Grande and wounding a man was placed on paid leave.

The mistake meant about 7,400 soldiers sent to the Texas-Mexico border under Operation Lone Star were hit with higher-than-expected federal income taxes.

The legislation was named for Bishop Evans, who drowned last year trying to rescue migrants in the Rio Grande.

Although border encounters have fallen since Title 42 ended Thursday, Texas’ top Republican asks for “all available law enforcement personnel and resources.”

Despite no major influx in border crossings, state troopers will be relocated to border cities. Austin and the Texas Department of Public Safety faced criticism for the racial disparities in state trooper arrests in the capital.

While the state guarantees law enforcement officers, like Department of Public Safety troopers, a $500,000 death benefit for their families if they die on duty, National Guard troops who stand shoulder to shoulder with those DPS officers on Operation Lone Star don’t have the same benefit.

A federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to end the expedited releases of migrants entering the United States from Mexico, potentially straining already stretched holding facilities.

State officials have repeatedly had to move money from other departments to keep Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border mission running this year.

The court ordered the Biden administration to continue enforcing the policy while Texas and other states that want to keep the Trump-era rule in place prepare their legal arguments.

The service member is expected to recover.

A governor’s military powers are often not discussed as part of the election process, in favor of other prominent issues like education and taxes. But with Operation Lone Star in plain view, voters may have more questions this election.

The soldier is the 10th known Texas Guard member linked to the mission to die since its rapid expansion began in September 2021.

In a Sept. 3 story about the deaths of migrants trying to cross into the United States from Mexico, The Associated Press misspelled the name of a Mexican city.

At least eight migrants were killed as dozens attempted a hazardous crossing of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, officials said Friday.

Texas officials say a National Guard member who drowned on the U.S.-Mexico border while on duty wasn't wearing a flotation device and had not been issued one.

Spc. Bishop Evans died after jumping into the Rio Grande to save migrants. He and other members of Operation Lone Star were not provided safety equipment. Texas Military Department said an order for buoys and ropes was made but has not been fulfilled.

Spc. Bishop E. Evans, a 22-year-old field artilleryman from Arlington, joined the Texas Army National Guard in 2019.

The brigadier general steps down from commanding Operation Lone Star’s military efforts after five months.

Nobody wants storms or fires. But for Texas politicians, responding to disasters can be a welcome change of subject from political fights in an election year.

The departure of three top officials in a week signals that officials may be looking to make changes to the heavily criticized mission. A soldier leading a unionization effort welcomed the moves.

The dispatching of troops to the sprawling private ranches, far from the border, raises questions about the use of National Guard troops, who have widely decried the mission as aimless, political and oversized, as the cost of the effort has already ballooned to $2 billion a year.

Frustration, anxiety and anger prevailed in the survey responses obtained by the The Texas Tribune and Military Times. The survey includes responses from nearly 250 members of Task Force South, one of six units that fall under the umbrella of Operation Lone Star.

The governor has sent waves of troops to the border as Guard officials scramble to execute a massive mobilization that would normally take months to plan. Some Guard members say the operation has set back their income, education and well-being.

The call for action from Texas Democrats comes as another service member based in the city of Pharr survived a suicide attempt on Sunday, according to an incident report obtained by Army Times and The Texas Tribune.

Abbott said the suicides are being investigated and thinks it will come out that not all “actually occurred during Operation Lone Star.”

Legislative leaders overseeing the Texas Military Department say they are looking into reports of suicides, habitual pay problems and poor working conditions on Gov. Greg Abbott's highly touted border mission.

Abbott’s political challenger said guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star are facing late pay, being exposed to COVID-19, experiencing supply shortages and dealing with added stress that has led to multiple suicides tied to the mission.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said Tuesday that the governor sent a letter on saying he plans to sue the federal government over the vaccine mandate for the Texas National Guard.

In a letter to the major general of the Texas National Guard, Abbott said “more manpower is needed” at the border.

Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged “groups of Texans who wish to get vaccinated as a business, family unit, friend group, or more” to schedule an event.

“The good news is there’s going to be a record amount of vaccines available across Texas this week with increasing numbers going forward,” he said. Officials have hinted the next group of vaccine eligible Texans could include teachers and other essential workers. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses and have to be stored at temperatures well below freezing. AdThe program is modeled in part after the Save Our Seniors program in Corpus Christi, where Abbott made his remarks Thursday. There, some 2,000 doses have been given to homebound seniors through the local program, officials said.

Soldiers with the Texas National Guard work at a drive-through COVID-19 testing center in Smithville on May 5, 2020. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that National Guard troops will vaccinate residents in five rural counties as part of a new pilot program. Credit: Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via USA TODAY NETWORKStarting Thursday, state mobile vaccination teams staffed by Texas National Guard members will be deployed to five rural Texas counties to administer coronavirus vaccines to qualified residents. National Guard teams will visit DeWitt, Marion, Real, Sherman and Starr counties as part of a newly-created State Mobile Vaccine Pilot Program announced by Gov. On Wednesday, President Biden ordered full reimbursement to states that use the National Guard to increase the pace of vaccinations nationally.

The Texas Army National Guard said Monday that up to 1,000 troops could be dispatched to cities across Texas ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Brandon Jones, a spokesperson for the Guard, said the deployment is not related to the election and troops would not be stationed at polling places. The newspaper reported that Guard members could arrive as soon as this weekend. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has not been contacted by either Abbott or the Guard about the deployment, spokesperson Mary Benton told The Texas Tribune on Tuesday. Separately, the FBI’s field office in Dallas warned that far-right extremists could pose a violent threat in North Texas around the election.

FORT HOOD, Texas – A fifth soldier in about three months has died at Fort Hood, according to authorities. “The military is a family, and the entire Texas National Guard mourns with Sgt. The entire Texas Military Department mourns... Posted by Texas Military Department on Saturday, August 15, 2020Moore’s cause of death has yet to be determined and an investigation is now underway. This marks the fifth death at the Fort Hood base. In late June, skeletal remains were found in a field near Fort Hood.

HOUSTON – Gov. Greg Abbott has activated the Texas National Guard in response to protest violence throughout the state Saturday, according to a press release. “Texans have every right to exercise their first amendment rights, but violence and looting will not be tolerated,” Abbott said in a statement. Earlier, Abbott announced DPS was sending more than 1,500 officers to assist local police departments. “As Texans exercise their 1st Amendment rights, it is imperative that order is maintained and private property is protected.”