Dewhurst: I've told militia members to join the National Guard

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talks to DPS agents on a gun boat in the Rio Grande. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talks to DPS agents on a gun boat in the Rio Grande. Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close Dewhurst: I've told militia members to join the National Guard 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO – Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he has talked to members of border militia groups and recommended they join the Texas National Guard to avoid confusion or "friendly fire" with agents, Guardsmen and officers on the Mexican border.

"I understand the militia, but at the end of the day, and I've talked to most of the militia groups, we need to get organized," Dewhurst told Time Warner Cable News Tuesday. "We cannot have our DPS spread over many, many miles (and) our National Guard, and then have other groups in the middle because the last thing we want is confusion, people shooting at different people or somebody hurt with friendly fire."

Last month, a Border Patrol agent fired four shots at an armed militia member near the Rio Grande while pursuing a group of immigrants near Brownsville. The volunteer militia member did not face charges for the incident but had served prison time for felony burglary charges about 15 years ago.

"That's why I've talked to the militia about (joining) the state guard," said Dewhurst, who lost his reelection bid in the Republican primary runoff in May. "'Why don't you consider joining the state Guard, go through the background check and join.' If there are enough people willing to do that I'm perfectly willing to do that I'm perfectly willing to talk to Gov. Perry and others about providing weapons training, discipline and at least in that case you'd know where they are, you'd have more boots on the ground."

The militias began organizing this summer when national attention was focused on tens of thousands of Central American immigrant children and families illegally entering the United States through the southern border.

Customs and Border Protection has said that the agency does not "endorse or support any private group or organization from taking matters into their own hands, as it could have disastrous personal and public safety consequences."

"I understand their frustration, I've got the same frustration," Dewhurst said. "The federal government has horribly failed to do their constitutional duty" to protect the border.

All members of the Texas Democratic Delegation called on Attorney General Greg Abbott in a July letter to denounce the militia groups, which Abbott, Republican nominee for governor, brushed off as a "political stunt."

Gov. Rick Perry used executive power to tap $38 million in emergency funds to pay for his deployment of 1,000 Guard troops in July.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker