Perry expected to call up National Guard to Rio Grande Valley

*The Texas governor isn’t saying that the deployed guard would protect Texas against undocumented children. In fact, he’s said this is a reaction to an ignored request to help fight drug traffickers. But his timing is suspect. He’s putting on spectacles in more ways than one. VL

By Peggy Fikac, Cindy Horswell , Houston Chronicle

Gov. Rick Perry is expected to announce Monday that he will activate up to 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the Rio Grande Valley, state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, confirmed Sunday night.

Perry wants these troops to bolster the work already being done with a surge of Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, said Hinojosa’s spokesperson, Jennifer Saenz, who added that the governor gave the Rio Grande Valley delegation notice prior to the planned 2 p.m. announcement on border security.

“The senator understands that Perry wants this troop build-up but is not sure what kind of federal approval he needs for it. He just knows he wants to deploy 1,000 troops there,” Saenz said.

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[Photo by Texas Governor Rick Perry/Flickr]