U.S. military troops being deployed soon on a border security mission to the Big Bend region of West Texas could be housed at small municipal airports near Marfa and Presidio, according to local officials in Presidio County.
Presidio County Judge Joe Portillo said while the idea is “not etched in stone,” it was discussed by military officials at a planning meeting held in nearby Alpine on March 14.
“They have identified some areas that they think would be advantageous for their equipment, for ease of use,” Portillo told Marfa Public Radio.
The county-owned Marfa Municipal Airport could be used to house about 200 troops, Portillo said, with another 100 stationed in the border city of Presidio.
“They’re going to have portable buildings that are brought in where they’ll be lodged, where they’ll be sleeping, eating, having their meetings, working on their equipment,” he said.
Presidio County Airports Director Chase Snodgrass said military representatives first approached him about a month ago about the idea of utilizing the Marfa airport and the county-owned Presidio Lely International Airport. But those representatives have since gone quiet, he said.
“They told me they had some kind of a contracting officer, I said have your contracting officer send us a draft of a lease,” he said. “But I’ve never heard anything back from them.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed Friday that the agency was gearing up for a deployment of soldiers to the Big Bend region as part of the Trump administration’s broader push to militarize the U.S.-Mexico border. The Defense Department earlier this month said the border-wide military push would include the use of armed “Stryker” combat vehicles.
The soldiers deployed to the Big Bend region are set to be dispatched to Border Patrol stations in Alpine, Van Horn and Presidio in order to assist border agents with “surveillance, intelligence gathering and logistical support,” CBP said in a statement.
Federal officials have so far shared few other operational details about the deployment. An Army spokesperson didn’t respond to questions about the airport talks and a Border Patrol spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
County officials said any plan to utilize the local airport for the military’s border deployment would require a vote by county commissioners on some type of lease agreement between the county and the federal government. But local officials also indicated that the military is seeking to move quickly on a plan.
“I was told by the judge that these people want to engage with this within the next two weeks and have contracts signed within the next two weeks,” said David Beebe, a county commissioner whose precinct includes the Marfa airport.
Still, Presidio County Attorney Blair Park said county officials are largely still in the dark about specifics.
“No one from the federal government has reached out to ask us about the lease at the airport or anything,” she said.
Beebe said while he has reservations about the deployment of troops to the region - the sight of military vehicles in the area would be “not great for our tourism,” he said - he would not vote against any deal to house troops at the Marfa airport.
“If I was in the military, I would not order this, but the fact that it's coming, we can either say no and lose any leverage, or we can say yes and try to be accommodating and potentially have some leverage,” he said. “ The leadership role to take in this is to say yes, and to be a good steward of what they're going to do, and to try to work with them to make sure that any impacts that they have on us are positive and also very minimal.”
Portillo said he would also support a plan to house soldiers at the airport.
“I’m sure we’ll see them at our stores, at our restaurants, I think they’re gonna be good for the economy,” he said.
Officials are expected to share more details about the troop deployments in the Big Bend region at a press briefing later this week.
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Editor’s note: David Beebe is a volunteer music program host at Marfa Public Radio.
