It was a change from the Republican governor's legal battles with the Biden administration. Abbott spent the last four years testing a state's ability to enforce immigration law — at times at odds with Border Patrol.

Texas National Guard soldiers now have the authority to make immigration arrests and help detain and deport undocumented people under an agreement between the state and the Trump administration that requires those duties be done under the supervision and direction of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the additional troops will work alongside federal border agents amid the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants.