Rick Perry Tells Texas State Police to Boost Border Security

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders called Wednesday evening for a “surge” in law enforcement along the border, announcing plans to inject $1.3 million more into the effort every week in response to a recent influx of illegal crossings.

“Texas can’t afford to wait for Washington to act on this crisis and we will not sit idly by while the safety and security of our citizens are threatened,” Republican Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement.

The intensified security operations will be in effect at least through the end of the year, and will replicate a program last fall targeting human and drug trafficking. Perry and fellow Republicans Lt. Gov. David Dewhust and Texas State House Speaker Joe Straus called for the enhanced security measures in an open letter to the head of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety.

The governor’s statement cited federal numbers detailing a spike in border crossings and blamed the federal government for not doing enough to secure the border.

“Until the federal government fulfills its duty, it falls on the State of Texas to address those obligations,” the state leaders said in the joint letter to the director of the Texas DPS.