From Border Theater to a Real War on Immigrants?

Republican-led states have deployed their police agencies to the border, heeding Texas governor Greg Abbott’s call to arms. With Trump’s mass-deportation plans looming, what role will they play?

National Guard soldiers at the entrance to Shelby Park on March 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas, open the gate for a Florida state police officer. (Photo credit: Brandon Bell via Getty Images)

In January the Texas Military Department seized the 47-acre Shelby Park, near downtown Eagle Pass, against the city’s wishes. State authorities unfurled coils of ra…