Greg Abbott To Deploy National Guard Amid Texas Anti-ICE Protests

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday night that he would deploy the National Guard “across the state” as anti-ICE protests hit major cities.

Protests against President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown started earlier this week in Dallas and Austin, and more demonstrations are planned for San Antonio on Wednesday and Saturday. In a post on X, Abbott said he was mobilizing the National Guard as a precautionary measure “to ensure peace & order.”

“Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest,” the governor added. “@TexasGuard will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order.”

In Austin, the state’s capital, police used pepper spray and tear gas to disperse a group of protesters who were ignoring warnings to clear out of the street, KXAN Austin reported. Officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Austin Police Department arrested more than a dozen people during the protest Monday night, according to Abbott. During the demonstration, a federal building where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holds detainees was vandalized with messages reading, “ICE NEEDS 2 SURRENDER & RELEASE THE HOSTAGES” and “MODERN DAY SLAVERY DISGUISED AS CRIMINAL REFORM.”

Six men arrested during the Austin demonstration were charged with felony criminal mischief, resisting arrest, among other offenses, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

“Peaceful protesting is legal. But once you cross the line, you will be arrested,” Abbott wrote on social media early Tuesday morning, adding, “FAFO,” the acronym for “F*** Around and Find Out.”

The protest in Dallas on Monday turned “tense” as some demonstrators clashed with police officers, The Dallas Morning News reported. After sunset, authorities deployed pepper spray to disperse the crowd and appeared to make some arrests.

Texas National Guard troops will be on “standby in areas where mass demonstrations are planned in case they are needed,” according to Abbott’s office. Demonstrations, organized by a group called “No Kings” are planned for cities in all 50 states on Saturday as the U.S. Army will hold a massive parade in Washington, D.C., coinciding with the president’s birthday, with Trump in attendance.

Protests, some of which have turned into riots, have already popped up in cities across the country after anti-ICE rioters attacked law enforcement officers and damaged businesses and public property in Los Angeles last weekend. President Trump deployed the National Guard to L.A. on Saturday and then sent in reinforcements days later, including 700 Marines, as he blasted Democrat officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.

California then sued the Trump administration over the National Guard deployment, arguing that Trump infringed on Newsom’s power. Trump has defended his decision, claiming that L.A. would be “burning to the ground” without his action.