Unidentified official says Texas National Guard deputized to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement

An unidentified official said they have authorized the Texas National Guard to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that the Guard has been deputized to carry out the full range of ICE enforcement activities.

"I have authorized our National Guard that have been on the border for about 4 years now," the official said. "They have the full authority, to assist ICE and have been deputized, to assist ICE doing everything ICE would do such as apprehending, arresting, deporting, soup to nuts of what ICE will do." The same speaker said the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) "is embedded with ICE on operations across the entire state of Texas, to root out and to arrest and assist assist in the detention and deportation of anybody here illegally."

Why it matters: The comments, as reported during the briefing, describe an expansion or formalization of state-level participation in federal immigration enforcement. If implemented as stated, the described arrangements would affect how and where immigration arrests and deportations are carried out in Texas and could change the roles state personnel play in immigration operations. The transcript provides no statutory citations, court orders, or contemporaneous federal statements clarifying legal authority or operational agreements.

Details from the briefing: The official said the Guard "have been on the border for about 4 years" before saying they were authorized and deputized to assist ICE. The speaker described the deputization as authorizing the Guard to perform the same functions as ICE "soup to nuts," listing apprehending, arresting and deporting. Separately, the official said DPS personnel are embedded with ICE "on operations across the entire state of Texas." The briefing did not include further detail about the legal basis for deputization, a written order, or whether federal immigration authorities had issued a contemporaneous statement.

What was not specified: The transcript does not show a named official, a date for the authorization, any formal written order, or comments from ICE or DPS confirming the statements. The official did not cite the legal mechanism used to grant authority (for example, a specific state statute, memorandum of understanding, executive order, or federal request). It was also not specified how existing arrest, custody and deportation procedures would be handled in practice, or what oversight or reporting would follow.

Closing note: The remarks in the briefing present a claim of expanded operational cooperation between state and federal enforcement in Texas; the transcript contains no responses from ICE or the Texas Department of Public Safety and provides no documentary evidence for the authorization cited by the speaker.