Southwest
‘Side-by-side’: Texas deploys hundreds of troops, choppers to help Trump tackle border crisis
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced that he is deploying troops and helicopters to the southern border in order to help the Trump administration with its new ramped-up efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.
Abbott announced that he has ordered the deployment of the Texas Tactical Border Force to the Rio Grande Valley “to coordinate with U.S. Border Patrol under the Trump administration to secure the border.”
The force will send 400 additional soldiers, as well as C-130s and Chinook helicopters. That is in addition to the Texas National Guard soldiers already stationed at the border as part of Operation Lone Star, which Abbott launched in 2021 to tackle the then-rising border crisis.
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Asylum seekers wait for their CBP One appointments before crossing through El Chaparral border port in Tijuana, Mexico, on Jan. 20, 2025. (Carlos Moreno/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Texas has a partner in the White House we can work with to secure the Texas-Mexico border,” Abbott said in a statement.
He contrasted the Trump administration’s more aggressive stance on the southern border with what he saw as inaction by the Biden administration.
“For the past four years, Texas held the line against the Biden Administration’s border crisis and their refusal to protect Americans. Finally, we have a federal government working to end this crisis,” he said. “I thank President Donald Trump for his decisive leadership on the southern border and look forward to working with him and his Administration to secure the border and make America safe again.”
The efforts come amid a flurry of moves by the Trump administration to push back against illegal immigration and secure the southern border.
Gov. Greg Abbott makes an announcement in Houston, Texas, on March 26, 2024. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump ordered the deployment of the military to the border in a day one executive order, along with a slew of other border measures. Troops began arriving in Texas and California on Thursday evening, with approximately 1,500 troops adding to the already 2,500 service members stationed there in response to the border crisis in 2023.
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“This represents a 60% increase in active-duty ground forces since President Trump was sworn-in Monday,” acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement late Wednesday.
The new stance on the border was on display on Sunday when a diplomatic spat occurred between the U.S. and Colombia on deportations. Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to accept deportation flights, but later backtracked after Trump threatened tariffs and other measures.
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American officials sent two flights of Colombian illegal aliens as part of Trump’s deportation program. Petro rejected the flights, writing that the U.S. cannot “treat Colombian migrants as criminals.”
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The White House confirmed on Sunday that the Colombia’s president had caved “to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay,”
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The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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