COLUMBUS — In response to a request for assistance from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has authorized a contingent from the Ohio State Highway Patrol to respond to Texas to assist local law enforcement with border surveillance.

A total of 14 OSHP troopers and supervisors will travel to Texas in coming weeks. During this two-week assignment, the OSHP will not be tasked with making arrests.

This is the second group of troopers to respond to support Texas law enforcement in nearly two years.

DeWine previously authorized OSHP troopers to respond to Texas in July 2021.

Ohio has had a continuous presence on the border since October 2020, when DeWine deployed approximately 115 members of the Ohio National Guard to support the Southwest border operations at the request of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Guard Bureau.

Since that time, DeWine has additionally deployed nearly 325 Ohio National Guard members to Texas, with 125 of those guard members remaining at the border on active duty today.

A new rotation of 50 Ohio National Guard members is scheduled to deploy to Texas in October.