Rep. Morgan Luttrell of Texas, brother of Marcus Luttrell of “Lone Survivor” fame, introduced a bill on Thursday, January 31, which would give the National Guard troops deployed along the border the authority to use lethal force against “armed invaders” they see trying to cross the US-Mexico border. The bill is titled “Defend Our Borders from Armed Invaders Act.”
Though the bill has, so far, only been referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and the full text of it is not yet public, a description is public. According to that description, the bill would authorize the National Guard to take “such actions as may be necessary to repel persons attempting to enter the United States from Mexico who are carrying weapons, and for other purposes.”
Further, Rep. Luttrell’s office released a statement in which it described the bill, saying, “Congressman Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) introduced the Defend Our Borders from Armed Invaders Act in the United States House of Representatives. This legislation would authorize the National Guard to escalate force as necessary to repel an armed individual attempting to illegally cross the United States border from Mexico.”
Rep. Luttrell, for his part, argued that the bill is necessary because of the increasing violent crime at the border and the potential for that to spread deeper into American communities as the cartels get more involved and more emboldened. He said, “Cartels and smugglers are thriving at our wide-open border. We’re seeing violent crime continually escalate at the border and flow into our communities, as President Biden’s policies have created an untenable national security crisis.”
Continuing, Rep. Luttrell added that the powers granted by the bill are entirely necessary to stop such armed cartel members from crossing the border. He said, “This legislation is a step in the right direction to reign in this crime by providing the National Guard the power to stop these armed individuals from crossing into the United States by any means necessary.”
The bill comes amidst heightened worries about the border and who is crossing it. For example, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Chris Olivarez posted terrifying pictures on X in August of 2023. Taken from a drone, they showed a man with a rifle escorting illegal immigrants across the border in the Shelby Park area that is currently the locus of a dispute between the federal governor and Greg Abbott.
In the post, Olivarez said, “@TxDPS Texas Rangers UAS (Drone) Operators in #EaglePass conducted a patrol flight in #ShelbyPark. Operators observed a male carrying a long gun (possibly an AR platform) guiding a group of illegal immigrants across the Rio Grande. The unidentified male made it back to Mexico. Operators provided GPS coordinates to #USBP Agents & authorities in Mexico. #OperationLoneStar”
Similarly, footage caught in November of 2023 shows armed cartel members patrolling along the border, something that rankled many Americans and warned them of the danger of cartel control of the border zone. Watch the Fox News Channel report on that shocking footage here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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