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Nearly three out of four Americans are in support of U.S. troops being active at the southern border.
A new poll from CNBC shows that 73% of Americans support militarizing the border. Just as shocking was that 24% of respondents opposed militarizing the border. In 2023, only 55% supported such actions by the federal government so it's possible that number could rise even higher in 2025.
Ammon Blair, Senior Fellow for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s ‘Secure & Sovereign Texas’ Initiative, said it's not just about illegal immigration and who's coming into the U.S. but also people realizing the control that the Mexican cartels have on both sides of the border.
"The cartels have expanded their reach for decades now in the United States and the border situation has opened the conversation and the understanding about what has actually been going on at our southern border in Mexico and in the border states," Blair said.
President-elect Donald Trump and his border czar Tom Homan have applauded Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott for their efforts at the border and combatting illegal immigration, which has grown to include human trafficking and drug smuggling. Militarizing the border shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that tuned in to Trump's campaign.
Blair said militarizing the border will mean more military personnel and equipment being used to gain control of the region and deny any incursions or actions. Border states like Texas have had to step up in major ways because the federal government hasn't.
"Unfortunately the situation at our border has surpassed what our law enforcement can handle," said Blair. "The border patrol itself has to utilize local law enforcement, the Texas DPS and Texas National Guard."
Military action does not always mean there will be armed conflict. There are plenty of ways for the military to counter the movement at the southern border, especially by cartels. Blair said the intelligence apparatus is one of them.
Blair was a U.S. Border Patrol Agent himself for 10 years. He served in the Rio Grande Valley Sector and has firsthand knowledge of what border patrol agents face on a day-to-day basis in trying to enforce immigration laws. He believes people are starting to wake up to what's really going on at the border and this poll echoes that.
"They're starting to see the situation and starting to witness firsthand and on social media the war that is actually being waged," Blair said, a 20 year plus Army veteran.