Louisiana
Landry’s plan to send Louisiana National Guard to Texas border brings cost questions
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Gov. Jeff Landry’s stated desire to deploy Louisiana National Guard troops to Texas to assist with border security brings with it questions of cost.
Landry, along with a dozen other Republican state governors, visited the Texas-Mexico border on Saturday (Feb. 3), appearing with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for a summit and press conference centered on illegal immigration.
Texas has been preventing federal border patrol agents from using an area in Eagle Pass to process migrants crossing into the state.
“We’re going to be coming back and asking our legislative leadership to find the money necessary to send our National Guard troops here to support Texas,” Landry said.
During a Monday appearance on the Fox News channel’s Fox & Friends, Landry was asked more about his plans.
Gov. Landry says he wants to send Louisiana National Guard troops to southern border of Texas
“Texas has always been a great big brother to the state of Louisiana,” he said. “They’ve always helped us in our time of need. And now, it’s time for Louisiana to reciprocate. To send National Guard troops down there to help Gov. Abbott and the Texas National Guard to seal the border.”
Retired Army Lt. General Russel Honoré told Fox 8 that Landry has the authority to order such a deployment.
“The governor has command of the Louisiana National Guard,” Honoré said. “It comes to a question that he has proposed to discuss with the legislature, because that deployment would have to come out of the budget of the state of Louisiana.
Honoré, whose two sons are in the Louisiana National Guard, says members of the service have previously assisted at the border.
“Our National Guard has been to the border before and served honorably there,” he said. “But they were under something we called Title 32, which is reimbursed under the federal government. This would be a state-to-state event.”
Honoré said if Louisiana sends Guard members to Texas, their personal incomes could be affected.
“Many of them work, so they’ll be losing,” Honoré said. “They’d be away from their jobs. Many of them will take pay cuts, because the federal government pays them for housing and what we call ‘separation pay.’ The states don’t pay that.”
Honoré said Abbott would set the rules of engagement for Louisiana guardsmen tasked to his state.
“Once they go into Texas, they go into a mission that is determined by the governor of Texas. The rules of engagement, as far as what are they to do at the border, that would come out in something they call ‘standard operating procedures,’” Honoré said.
Dillard University political analyst Dr. Robert Collins said National Guard members tend to be deployed for extreme weather or disaster events.
“There are rare occasions when national guardsmen have been deployed from one state to a different state,” Collins said. “But in just about every situation where we can see in the past, it has been specifically to respond to a natural disaster or a mass casualty event — a hurricane, a tornado.”
The National Guard was deployed for Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And Honoré was in charge after the storm and subsequent levee failures and flood swamped New Orleans.
“When Hurricane Katrina hit, our National Guard was in Baghdad (Iraq), and we brought them back home a little earlier to take care the people of Louisiana, because that’s their No. 1 mission,” Honoré said.
Collins said he thinks Landry will face pushback from some state lawmakers.
“I can’t imagine that’s going to be a popular request, at a time when we’re expecting next fiscal year to have a deficit, and so the state legislature is going to have to deal with that,” Collins said.
On Capitol Hill, the U.S. Senate is working to pass a bipartisan bill to deal with border immigration. But leaders of the Republican-led House of Representatives say the legislation will be “dead on arrival” in the lower chamber.
Honoré is conscious of the political dynamics surrounding border protection.
“The underpinning of all this is the political argument at the national level on securing the border, and all that’s got to be sorted out,” he said.
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ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) – After being hired as the new head coach of the Southern Jaguars, Marshall Faulk made the trip to Central Louisiana to help promote his program.
“These are my eyes for the talent in this area,” Faulk told KALB. “We’re aggressive about recruiting the State of Louisiana, and so when there’s good talent and players coming up here, hanging out with some of the people that I know.”
Southern is Faulk’s first head coaching job after spending last season as an assistant at Colorado.
“I’ve done a lot of stuff in the states that I’ve lived,” Faulk said. “Being born here, I hadn’t done a lot around helping youth sports and helping kids in this environment. I’ve got a lot of information and education around football and things that I can give, and this is a great opportunity to give back.”
The Jaguars only won two games in 2025, but are just two years removed from a SWAC Championship Game appearance.
“Just the guys learning how to practice their willingness to learn,” Faulk said on the traits he’s seen thus far from his team. “They’re wanting their desire to get better, and that’s all you want.”
Southern opens up their season on August 29 against Alabama State at the Birmingham Football Classic.
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Copyright 2026 KALB. All rights reserved.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development recently hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the official completion of the $128 million I-20 Major Rehabilitation Project in Bossier and Caddo Parishes.
[Above photo by Louisiana DOTD]
The project, noted as being one of the largest investments in the I-20 corridor in many years, included a total rebuild of all the travel lanes and ramps at five interchanges from near Hamilton Road to LA 782-2 (Industrial Drive) in Bossier City.
Work began on this I-20 project in September 2023, which included removing all of the original pavement and roadway base down to the dirt – fully reconstructing them with all new material, the first project of its kind for this section of interstate since it was built in the 1960s.
The project also included extensive concrete panel replacements across the Red River on sections of I-20 in Shreveport; drainage structure installation and improvements; new overhead signage and related components; updated street lighting, a new barrier wall, and headlight glare screens; plus fresh roadway striping and reflectorized pavement markings.
The agency said contractors completed all major construction work such as concrete paving by late 2025, with final items – including permanent roadway striping and signage – finished over the last several months.
“The I-20 project is a testament to what we can accomplish when collaboration is at the forefront and everyone works toward a common goal, which is to deliver a large-scale investment that positively impacts the quality of life for thousands of citizens,” noted Governor Jeff Landry (R) in a statement.
“Executing such a vast infrastructure improvement also demonstrates government accountability, effective project management, and a commitment to delivering on our promises,” he said.
“The I-20 major rehabilitation project was a transformational investment in one of the most vital transportation corridors in not only Louisiana, but also across the entire southern United States,” added Glenn Ledet, Louisiana DOTD secretary. “Meaningful advancements like this one help ensure reliability, safety, and resilience – all of which are essential to strengthening the larger transportation network.”
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Our country is the product of our history. And as America’s 250th anniversary nears, those echoes sound with unusual clarity.
Later this year, we will also mark 223 years since Oct. 17, 1803, when President Thomas Jefferson urged Congress to ratify the treaty formalizing the Louisiana Purchase. He said the new territory would bring “important aids to our Treasury, an ample provision for our prosperity, and a widespread field for the blessings of freedom.”
He was right.
From the day Standard Oil built its Baton Rouge refinery in 1909, Louisiana has powered America’s prosperity. Much has changed since Jefferson’s time, but one truth remains: Louisiana’s leadership in energy remains essential to American manufacturing and a cornerstone of our national strength.
Manufacturers champion an “all of the above” energy strategy — a path to unleash America’s energy dominance. And that path runs through Louisiana.
Will Green
The manufacturing industry consumes one-third of the nation’s energy. To lead as an industry, every energy source, every electron counts. Manufacturers understand that leadership isn’t about producing more, it’s about using energy wisely.
Manufacturing is key to Louisiana’s economy, representing 17% of state GDP and nearly $58 billion in output. More than 143,000 Louisianans work in manufacturing, earning nearly double the state’s average wage. Those jobs depend on access to abundant, affordable energy, because manufacturers make energy and use energy.
The resilience, affordability and reliability of U.S. oil and gas underpin our industrial base, our national security and our ability to compete globally. In Louisiana, manufacturers are on the front lines of that effort, onshore and offshore alike from the state’s pipelines to its LNG terminals. And the state has made it clear over the years that energy and manufacturing are top priorities.
But leadership also requires follow-through. Too many critical projects remain stuck in permitting limbo, waiting for approvals that should have come long ago. Louisiana alone has billions of dollars in potential investment literally stuck. Words must be turned into action to move projects forward. With billions on the line, manufacturing needs a predictable permitting process that sparks long-term certainty.
Since day one of President Donald Trump’s administration, he has answered the calls of manufacturers by reversing the previous administration’s ban on liquefied natural gas exports. That decision reaffirmed America’s commitment to lead the world in energy production and trade.
If we want to keep leading, manufacturers need comprehensive permitting reform now. America’s broken permitting system is costing America’s manufacturers $8 billion each year, according to recent analysis by the National Association of Manufacturers and the Foundation for American Innovation. It takes roughly 80% longer to approve a major energy or infrastructure project in the U.S. than in other advanced economies. That means higher costs, fewer jobs and slower growth.
There is bipartisan momentum in Congress to get permitting reform done in 2026. America needs a more efficient, more reliable permitting system to build the infrastructure that powers growth and keeps our industry competitive. This year, Congress can deliver the certainty manufacturers need to build faster, invest with confidence and improve the quality of life for all Americans.
We can’t power the factories of the future if we can’t build them.
Louisiana has long shown that energy production and environmental stewardship can coexist. With smart policy, a modern permitting system and predictable rules, that balance can endure.
Two centuries after Jefferson’s words, Louisiana continues to fuel America’s future through energy, manufacturing and innovation.
When Louisiana’s energy and manufacturing sectors thrive, America wins.
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