Rick Perry Says National Guard Troops at Texas Border Will Protect Nation Against 'Cartels' and 'Narco Terrorists Tentacles'

According to Texas Governor Rick Perry, the National Guard troops that were ordered to the border in south Texas will be protecting not only Texas from "narco terrorists" who are "spreading their tentacles," but the entire nation as well. The controversial Texas Governor also stated that he's unclear how long the deployment of those troops will take before the nation is clear of any cartel or narco threat.

“You now are the tip of the spear, protecting Americans from these cartels and gangs,” Perry troops gathered at Camp Swift recently.

Perry ordered 1,000 National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border last month, in response to the overwhelming number of immigrants crossing into the United States through south Texas. What he received, according to the Governor, were about 2,200 volunteers instead.

The troops are meant to assist Border Patrol agents with securing the border in response to the tens of thousands of Central American children have been crossing into the U.S. The state operation is costing about $1.3 million a week, and the addition of the National Guard troops adds nearly $12 million more per month. Perry's deployment of the National Guard troops is in direct opposition to the federal government, but he is asking them to cover the costs nonetheless.

Perry has been a vocal opponent of both the White House and Congress in terms of addressing the crisis at the border, criticizing Congress' decision to go on vacation without deciding upon funding for border legislation, as well as President Obama's decision to skip a border visit while in Texas last month. 

According to Perry, the National Guard troops have reduced the numbers of immigrants at the border by more than half over the last few weeks. However, advocacy groups claim that while the numbers of immigrants crossing the borders are down, the decline can be attributed to a number of sources, including migration patterns and changes in smuggling routes. 

During Perry's talk with the troops, he called the Guard deployment a “stopgap measure” and reiterated that the federal government needs to send more border agents to Texas, rather than the northern United States.

A number of recent criticisms have accused Perry of taking advantage of the border crisis in a bid for a Presidential run in 2016, but Perry denies the accusations. Border Patrol agents have also spoken out against the move, stating that the troops are not trained to address immigration issues, and would be a waste of resources if deployed.

"The idea that what we're doing is politics versus protecting the people of Texas, the people of this country, is just false on its face," he said. “These men and women know what they’re doing.”