AUSTIN, Texas — Ahead of protests against President Donald Trump and ongoing federal immigration raids, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday he has ordered the deployment of over 5,000 Texas National Guard troops and 2,000 state police officers across the state.


What You Need To Know

  • Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says over 5,000 Texas National Guard troops and 2,000 state police officers were deployed across the state ahead of "No Kings Day" and immigration protests

  • In recent days, protesters across the U.S. have been rallying against ramped up immigration raids in the U.S. as part of Trump’s mass deportation plan. Protesters and journalists have been met with tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at rallies

  • More protests are planned in cities such as Houston and Austin as part of the national “No Kings” demonstrations scheduled for Saturday

  • The Trump administration has said it would continue immigration raids despite the protests

Abbott had not previously detailed how many guard troops he has mobilized and his statement does not detail where the guard troops were sent.

In a post on X, the Texas governor said the guard would “use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order.”

“Peaceful protests are part of the fabric of our nation, but Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles in response to President Donald Trump’s enforcement of immigration law,” said Abbott. “Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be arrested and held accountable to the full extent of the law. Don’t mess with Texas — and don’t mess with Texas law enforcement.”

The Republican Texas governor's move stands in sharp contrast to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who has publicly clashed with Trump over his decision to deploy National Guard and Marine personnel in Los Angeles.

Mayors in San Antonio and Austin have said they did not ask for Abbott to mobilize the National Guard to their cities.

This week, protesters across the U.S. have held marches and demonstrations to rally against ramped up immigration raids in the U.S. as part of Trump’s mass deportation plan. At many of these rallies, law enforcement officers have targeted protesters — and some journalists — with pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets.

In Austin, where Abbott lives, organizers led a march from the Texas Capitol to the J.J. Pickle Federal Building on Monday evening, holding up signs condemning deportations and raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The largely peaceful protest ended with police sending pepper spray and tear gas to disperse crowds that stayed after the march was over. Over a dozen people were arrested and four Austin Police Department officers were injured.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said during a news conference on Tuesday that officers used pepper spray balls and state police used tear gas after protestors began trying to spray paint the J.J. Pickle Federal Building. Davis said demonstrators then began throwing objects at the police barricade.

The protest was in solidarity with a similar rally in Los Angeles over the weekend in which Trump ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to California to respond. Newsom denounced the move and on Tuesday filed an emergency request in federal court to block them from aiding in deportation raids.

Some troops were seen at a protest Wednesday night in downtown San Antonio near the Alamo. That demonstration remained peaceful.

More protests are planned in cities such as Houston and Austin as part of the national “No Kings Day” demonstrations scheduled for Saturday. The rallies are the same day of Trump’s 79th birthday and a military parade in Washington to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

The Trump administration has said it would continue immigration raids despite the protests.

According to Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott's press secretary, troops are on standby in areas where mass demonstrations are planned.

Austin Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes reacted to Abbott's decision in a post on X on Wednesday.

"Sending the National Guard to intimidate peaceful protesters is wrong. Period. We’ve seen this playbook before, military force used to threaten and silence communities demanding justice," she wrote. "To every Texan exercising their constitutionally protected free speech: know your rights, stay vigilant, and protect one another."

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson released the following statement:

"The City of Austin will continue to protect the right of people to peacefully assemble. We will continue to recognize the humanity and value of our immigrant community. I'm supportive of people exercising their right to engage in peaceful protest against politics and policies that they disagree with. However, destructive actions or efforts to hurt police is wrong. You are damaging your city.

"We are dealing with a very real situation right now that impacts the lives of very real people. Much of what we see out of Washington is to create fear and chaos — we should not play into these politics of fear. Adding to the chaos — through destruction of property, hurting other people, including police officers, or otherwise — adds to the problems for those people being targeted while empowering those in Washington who want more pain and chaos.

"The reality is that we should not feed into this politics of fear and pain and risk doing harm to those we want to help. We must continue to assert our first amendment rights to peacefully assemble without creating negative consequences for real people already living in fear."

Abbott, who has been governor since 2014, has been aggressive in deploying the Guard in the past, particularly for immigration enforcement on the border.

Since 2021, the Texas Guard has played a prominent role in Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, and thousands of troops have been deployed to help clamp down on border crossings. An agreement with the Trump administration in February gave Texas National Guard soldiers the authority to arrest and detain people for entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico.

Texas also has established a permanent border base for Guard troops, an 80-acre installation that will house up to 1,800 troops when completed.