however, Texas Adjutant General John Nichols, who is head of the Texas National Guard, said they will get on the phone to a border station so that the children will receive water and medical care. How does that stop the influx ? Perry does n't say that it will. He said he wants to stop border crime. So what will the border patrol do ? The National Guard troops will refer suspected criminal activity to the Texas Department of Safety. They will also patrol the border by air, especially at night. And they will amass at the border to provide a strong visual that Perry hopes will deter criminals from bringing illicit activity across the border. What wo n't they do ? The National Guard will not make arrests. If we were asked to, we could detain people, but we 're not planning to, Nichols said. How much will it cost and who will pay for it ? Texas taxpayers are on the hook, and it will cost about $12 million per month. Will it work ? The former head of the National Guard and a former commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection bureau have said Perry's plan is limited in scope. The real solution to basically helping border patrol is going to be a holistic approach to this that goes way beyond more boots on the ground, said David Aguilar, the acting commissioner of CBP from 2011 until 2013. Aguilar said one thing that will help relieve the workload of border patrol agents