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The Sherriff needs to deputize a couple of hundred folks, take M16's and M203's from the TXNG armory, give a Safety/LOAC/ROE breifing and see what happens. The FED's shure as sh*t arent going to do diddly.

If something happens, the TX gov needs to roll some M1 Abrahams and put them on the border.

This brings up an interesting question... Let's say that the governor of a state calls up the national guard to patrol a border that happens to be a border with a foreign country. Constitutionally, that's the federal government's job, and a state official does not have the authority to do something like that. More importantly, what would happen when the federal government decides that they like the status quo better, and overrides the governor by federalizing the guard...

Mark

and a state official does not have the authority to do something like that.

State officials do have that authority:

Article I, Section 10: No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

what would happen when the federal government decides that they like the status quo better, and overrides the governor by federalizing the guard...

If it gets to the point where a state governor declares the state "actually invaded", and the federal government refuses to deal with the invasion, we have much larger Constitutional problems to deal with.

"This brings up an interesting question... Let's say that the governor of a state calls up the national guard to patrol a border that happens to be a border with a foreign country. Constitutionally, that's the federal government's job, and a state official does not have the authority to do something like that. More importantly, what would happen when the federal government decides that they like the status quo better, and overrides the governor by federalizing the guard..."

When the state and feds take no action to protect citizens, the locals have to do it. The sheriff can deputize folks.
He can't forcibly deputize, but he can take volunteers. A sheriff is the king of his domain/county for law enforcement. The Feds run into all sorts of posse comitatus restrictions. The State can do alot too, but normally not unless it's a declared emergency because they dont want to spend the money. Defending citizens and property from threats greater than the individual sheriffs resources open up a legitimate right to deputize. As long as individual/civil rights/property rights are not trampled on it's legitimate and the Feds can try to stop it, but there is tremendous precedent on the local official's side.
He can do it and bill DHS/State of Texas afterwards, especially if they do not respond to his requests for assistance.
If I were him, I would put up a tent city for a jail.

He can order the TX Hwy patrol and TX Rangers (the detectives not the baseball team) to post units near the borders)... Since those are civilian agencies, it is therefore out of the right of the President to order them to stand down.. Also, since a county Sheriff is the highest authority law enforcement officer within his jurisdiction, order his deputies to the border or establish special border deputies for each county and arm them to the teeth... Dare the POTUS, Congress, or the Mexican army to cross them.