Editor’s Note: The video above is from KXAN’s newscast on Oct. 7, 2025.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Following Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to send Texas National Guard troops to Chicago, viewers of affiliate KXAN expressed concerns about whether this would impact border operations with Mexico.

On Sunday, Oct. 5, Abbott shared via the social media platform X that he had “fully authorized” the deployment of 400 Texas National Guard members to ensure safety for federal officials. By Tuesday, Oct. 7, these troops had already arrived in Chicago.

This decision follows President Donald Trump’s earlier move to send federal troops to cities like Washington D.C. and Los Angeles to address violent crime.

Abbott’s statement was in response to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who had posted on the platform, mentioning a lack of direct communication or coordination with federal authorities.

In part of his response, Abbott remarked, “You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or step aside and let the Texas Guard handle it.”

On Tuesday, Abbott insisted the border will remain secure.

In an interview with Fox News Channel’s America Reports, Abbott clarified, “Texas is only deploying a small portion of our National Guard. We still have thousands stationed at the border.”

Since Trump started his second term in January, encounters at the southwest borders have dropped significantly this year, according to the U.S. and Customs Border Protection website.

Overall, the encounter data is broken down and includes “U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Title 8 Apprehensions, Office of Field Operations (OFO) Title 8 Inadmissibles, and Title 42 Expulsions.”

Data from the Fiscal Year Southwest Land Borders Encounters by Month on the CBP website show from October 2024 to October 2025, border encounters in the southwest went from 240,927 to 106,000.

“Title 42 Expulsions refers to individuals encountered by USBP and OFO and expelled to the country of last transit or home country in the interest of public health under Title 42 U.S.C. 265 from March 21, 2020 to May 11, 2023,” the CBP website said.

The data is broken down by demographics for USBP and OFO, as provided by USBP:

• Accompanied Minors (AM)
• Individuals in a Family Unit (FMUA)
• Single Adults
• Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC)

A deeper breakdown of southwest border encounters is available on the USBP website.