Texas National Guard says it’s preparing to deploy to border

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas National Guard says it is preparing to deploy to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to a call from President Donald Trump.

The Texas Military Department, the umbrella agency over the Texas’ National Guard branches, said on its Twitter account that it would hold a Friday night news conference on the deployment. Further details were not immediately available.

Trump told reporters Thursday that he wants to send between 2,000 and 4,000 National Guard members to the border to help fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

That would be lower than the roughly 6,000 National Guard members that former President George W. Bush sent during another border security operation.

Texas already has 100 Guardsmen deployed as part of an existing state mission at the border.