The announcement comes amid growing calls for an independent investigation from local leaders and lawmakers. The Department of Public Safety had previously said that the rangers would not investigate without a request from federal or local officials.
The governor said the Department of Public Safety officials met with federal officials and Houston police.
“The Texas Rangers are now going to be involved in an investigation of this matter, working alongside federal officials to get to the bottom of exactly what happened,” Abbott said in his first public comments on the shooting.
“We don’t want to see people shot. Period,” Abbott added. “That’s separate from whether or not the immigration laws are going to be enforced. I fully expect our immigration laws to be enforced, but it’s proven that immigration laws can be enforced, and stopping illegal immigration from coming across our border can be achieved without shooting people.”
When asked whether it would be an independent probe, the governor said: “Any time the Texas Rangers are involved, they work independently. They’re well known, not just in the state of Texas, but elsewhere, for their independence in conducting investigations.”
DPS Director Freeman Martin on Monday had declined a request for the rangers to investigate by more than a dozen Democratic members of Houston’s delegation to the state Legislature. Martin said the agency could not step in without a request. On Tuesday, Mayor John Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz formally requested the rangers investigate the shooting.
“Mayor Whitmire and I are asking for the Texas Rangers to conduct their own investigation, which will ensure it is independent and transparent,” Diaz wrote in a letter posted Tuesday night. “This has been done in previous cases.”