Texas announced on Friday the construction of a military base on its border with Mexico, the latest in a series of bravado by its governor and the state over illegal immigration, which Republicans intend to keep at the center of the campaign ahead of the Nov. 5 election. in the USA.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott made the announcement in Eagle Pass, the 320-acre site where the facility will be built. It will be located on the side of the Rio Grande, a river that forms a natural border, and will be able to host around 300 military personnel from April.

The initiative will “increase Texas’ military capabilities in Eagle Pass so that it can act more effectively” against the flow of illegal immigrants, the governor said, adding that when the base is complete, it will be able to host 1,800 military personnel.

Greg Abbott, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, accuses the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden of allowing an “invasion” of migrants on the southern border and not acting against the gangs that he says control the Mexican side.

Border control is a federal responsibility, but the Texas National Guard has been stationed since January at a municipal park in Eagle Pass.

Abbott has also installed some 100 miles of barbed wire along the Rio Grande, a measure the Biden administration is challenging in court. The US Supreme Court has temporarily authorized the federal government to remove the barbed wire, but state authorities are still installing it while the case is pending.

“Having soldiers stationed along the river will allow this barbed-wire fence to be erected more quickly,” Mr Abbott said yesterday, assuring that the “effective” measure had, he said, reduced the crossing of irregular migrants from Mexico. .

Texas also passed a law allowing state troopers to arrest illegal immigrants at the border, something only federal agencies can normally do. The judiciary is expected to rule on the issue before the law comes into force next month.