Why are Tennessee National Guard troops going to Texas? Here's what's happening at the border

Tennessee National Guard troops have been deployed to Texas for at least the next month. But why?

The move comes as more Republican governors in the United States take a stance with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in hopes of stopping immigrants from crossing the border between the two countries. On Saturday, Gov. Bill Lee met with troops being deployed down to the border between Mexico and Texas for March.

"Gov. Abbott has made the decision to utilize Texas' resources to secure that border and to keep that traffic from coming into his state," Lee said. "But it's an overwhelming task, and he asked governors to join him because each one of us recognizes that."

Here's a look at why Tennessee is sending troops and what exactly is happening in Texas.

Immigration, the Texas border and 'Operation Lone Star'

In the last decade, immigration has been a hot topic, but in this election cycle, Americans now believe immigration to be the most important issue facing the United States, a Gallup poll released this week revealed.

In recent months, Abbott has been vocal about the border and keeping migrants from crossing over illegally and pushed "Operation Lone Star"— a 2021 initiative by Abbott that sent the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to the southern border to "fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border."

The operation has also bused and flown more than 100,000 migrants from the Texas border to Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. All are led by Democrats and deemed sanctuary cities.

Along with busing migrants from Texas to other communities in the country, the state has also taken over an Eagle Pass-owned park near the Rio Grande where migrants had been entering by the thousands in recent years and installed razor wire to deter people from crossing. The installation has continued in recent months despite a January U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing federal officials to cut down the wire, reported USA TODAY.

Abbott has been vocal on social media about border issues and continues to tout the measures the state has taken.

Why did Tennessee send National Guard troops to Texas?

Lee authorized around 50 troops to head to Texas this weekend through the end of the month, with a promise of more later in the Spring. Their mission there, help Texas troops secure the border. Lee cited concerns with human and drug trafficking in unauthorized border crossings on Saturday with troops heading south.

“You realize what is happening and what has been happening there has to change," Lee told the guard members. "You are part of that change."

There has been no statement issued on where the troops would be heading.

This isn't the first time that Tennessee, and other states, have deployed National Guard troops to the Texas/Mexico border.

Tennessee deployed 125 soldiers last year to McAllen, Texas. While a majority of Republican-run states have deployed 1,000s of other troops and signed letters of support for Abbot and his views on what it means to secure the border.

Who's in charge of border security?

The federal government has always been the one to control border enforcement and working with immigrants trying to cross into the United States. But in the last year things have changed.

The Texas National Guard earlier this year seized control of a popular border crossing in Eagle Pass, and Texas began blocking federal immigration officials and Border Patrol agents from the area.

The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled the state could not block federal access, upholding longstanding precedent that the federal government, not states, control border enforcement.

'Join me or I'll join you': 5 takeaways from Biden and Trump's dueling border showdown

What to know about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

The 66-year-old native Texan, has spent years in the Texas court system and in the political arena. He is currently on his third term as the 48th governor of Texas. He has also served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 to 2015 and as a justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 1996 to 2001.

Abbott has his own ties to Tennessee too. He graduated from Vanderbilt Law School in 1984, just before he was paralyzed.

In July 1984, Abbott was paralyzed from the waist down after a tree fell on him and broke his back while he was jogging in Houston. He was 26.

The incident happened during a run while Abbott was finishing up law school, according to Abbot's website. He has two steel rods near his spine, which will remain there for the rest of his life.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Texas border is getting influx of Tennessee National Guard Troops