INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana National Guard expects to spend about $7.1 million deploying 50 soldiers to the U.S-Mexico border in Texas for up to 10 months.
Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry, the guard’s spokesman, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle the costs include pay and allowances, accommodations, transportation, supplies, and maintenance.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and a growing number of Republican governors, including Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, say President Joe Biden’s administration isn’t doing enough to stem the flow of unauthorized migrants. Texas and the federal government are clashing over a recent U.S. Supreme Court order on razor wire, access to a park along the border, and more.
Holcomb announced Indiana’s deployment last Friday, after a “recent direct request” from Abbott. Nearly a dozen other states have guard soldiers in Texas or have pledged to send some, according to the right-wing Texas Scorecard.
Indiana’s soldiers are mobilizing and will have a week of training at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh on the “operations of the mission.” Lowry said the guard is first taking volunteers for the mission.
The soldiers are expected to arrive in Texas in mid-March. They’re being called up under State Active Duty, meaning the state of Indiana pays their salaries. An earlier statement from the guard said it had sufficient funds to cover the costs.
Read the whole story by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz and Niki Kelly for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.