Abbott tests feds by urging Texas troopers to return migrants to border

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state National Guard soldiers and law enforcement officers Thursday to apprehend and return migrants suspected of crossing illegally back to the U.S.-Mexico border, testing how far his state can go in trying to enforce immigration law — a federal responsibility.

The order comes days after a group of right-wing Texas officials — alongside a few former Trump administration leaders and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) — asked the Republican governor to invoke the state and U.S. constitutions in declaring an “invasion” at the southwest border and to use his powers to repel it. The leaders of the sparsely populated counties near the border with Mexico complain that they have been overrun by smuggling attempts and increasing numbers of migrants evading detection.