El Paso officials say they need humanitarian assistance not the National Guard
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Over 400 Texas National Guard troops arrived in El Paso this week in response to an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of people are trying to cross the border there every day. But El Paso officials say the National Guard is not helping. Angela Kocherga from member station KTEP reports.
ANGELA KOCHERGA, BYLINE: It's a cold morning along the banks of the Rio Grande. Young men in military camouflage carry rifles and stand beside Humvees. They're members of the Texas National Guard. Razor wire separates them from the Mexican border. A husband and wife from Peru approach and then break down in tears.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
KOCHERGA: The troops were deployed by the governor. They don't have authority to take these migrants or others like them into custody. That's the Border Patrol's job. But Major General Win Burkett says they do have a clear mission.
WIN BURKETT: In our rules for the use of force, what we can do is serve as a deterrent by telling them to stop, by telling them to turn around and giving them an optic that they can't pass.
KOCHERGA: Governor Greg Abbott calls it a blockade. Burkett says he's here to help the Border Patrol.
BURKETT: Ma'am, we will be here as long as the governor thinks that we're adding value. And we are serving as a deterrent.
DAVID STOUT: They're not helping.
KOCHERGA: David Stout is a county commissioner and chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, which includes elected officials and business leaders.
STOUT: We specifically told them that we did not want them to send troops or to militarize the border any further. We said we need humanitarian assistance, not this political game that they're playing.
KOCHERGA: Stout, a Democrat, says the Republican governor has not provided help with the crisis. Many local officials agree. What they really need, they say, is help with things like shelter for migrants in winter weather.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
KOCHERGA: The Texas National Guard's efforts aren't working much. That was the case with the couple from Peru. They were not deterred. Border Patrol agents just directed them to another spot. They headed downriver to join a line of migrants also seeking asylum.
For NPR News, I'm Angela Kocherga in El Paso.
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