By: Ankita Kulkarni
January 31 2024
Old video of Texas security forces moving to U.S.-Mexico border passed off as recent
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The screenshot of viral posts circulating online. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically facts.)
Fact-Check
The Verdict Misleading
The viral clip dates back to May 2023 and is unrelated to the ongoing border dispute between the state of Texas and the U.S. government.
Claim ID b9ad65d6
What is the claim?
Amid the escalation of the border crisis between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the U.S. federal government, social media users are circulating a clip of U.S. military forces wearing riot gear marching.
The posts claim it shows the Texas National Guard heading to "protect the U.S.-Mexico border." Archived versions of such posts can be viewed here, here, and here.
One such post on X (formerly Twitter) (archived here) shared the video with the caption, "In Texas, the frenzy is already turning into chaos. Additional security forces are being assembled to proceed to the US-Mexico border."
The viral posts circulating online. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically facts.)
However, the video in question is unrelated to the current dispute and dates back to May 2023.
What is the fact?
A reverse image search of the viral clip led us to a post shared on X by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, dated May 10, 2023.
The video was captioned, "BREAKING: A quick reaction force of Texas National Guard soldiers w/ riot gear have just arrived at a major illegal crossing location here in Brownsville. I'm told this is part of TX Governor @GregAbbott_TX's new specialized TX Border Response force meant to repel mass crossings."
The same visuals have been shared in the now-viral post, albeit at a lower quality.
Comparison between the viral clip and the 2023 video. (Source: X/Screenshot)
A similar video posted on X by a Washington Examiner reporter Kaelan Deese on May 10, which stated that it shows Texas National Guard soldiers marching toward the southern border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott also shared this video on his official account on May 11, 2023, and the caption noted, "The new Texas Tactical Border Force deployed to Brownsville to help shut down a hotspot for illegal crossings. With Title 42 ending tomorrow, Texas will not hesitate to respond to the crisis President Biden has created on the border."
Title 42 of the U.S. Code grants the government the ability to take emergency action to stop the spread of communicable diseases. It was enacted by former president Donald Trump in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented migrants from entering the United States.
A press release published on May 8, 2023, on the Office of the Texas Governor website, states that Abbott announced the deployment of the new Texas Tactical Border Force to the Texas-Mexico border to tackle the migrant crisis in response to president Joe Biden ending Title 42.
Reuters reported on May 3, 2023, that the Biden administration sent 1,500 troops to "help secure the U.S.-Mexico border in addition to an ongoing deployment of about 2,500 National Guard troops."
Therefore, the above evidence confirms that the viral clip is outdated and does not concern Texas's current internal border tensions.
Logically Facts has been monitoring misinformation around the ongoing border standoff; read our fact-checks here and here. Read our article here to understand what triggered the standoff and what is happening in the U.S.
The verdict
Although the video shows Texas National Guard troops moving to the U.S.-Mexico border to tackle the migrant crisis, it dates back to May 2023, which has now been incorrectly linked to the ongoing standoff between Texas and the Biden administration. Therefore, we have marked the claim as misleading.