National Guard troops stationed on the Texas-Mexico border can't arrest illegal immigrants, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry says the deterrent factor makes sending the troops there worthwhile. 'It's a powerful reminder that what you are doing is a crime,' Perry told an online news outlet run by the conservative Heritage Foundation. 'It's just like a law enforcement effort in your neighborhood, where you see a parked patrol police car on the corner, and the bad guys see it and don’t commit a crime.' Scroll down for video Texas Governor Rick Perry announced on July 28 that he would deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops along the Texas-Mexico border to assist the U.S. Border Patrol in stopping illegal immigration
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Texas governor deployed up to 1,000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border this month but didn't give them arrest powers
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He argues that their deterrent factor alone is worth the exercise
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Troops will work alongside state police agencies Perry activated as a supplement to what he says are inadequate measures from Washington
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Hundreds of children and teens pour across the border from Mexico every day, following a 2012 amnesty announcement from President Obama that only affects illegal immigrants brought to America as children before 2007
'For those who say, "This is very out of the ordinary," the @placeholder being at the border is not an unusual situation,' he added.