AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry.
Texas has bused:
Over 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022
Over 25,900 migrants to New York City since August 2022
Over 21,100 migrants to Chicago since August 2022
Over 3,200 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022
Over 7,800 migrants to Denver since May 18
Over 1,100 migrants to Los Angeles since June 14
Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
This week, Governor Abbott shared photos of Texas National Guard soldiers’ efforts to deter and repel illegal crossings between ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border.
DPS Lieutenant Chris Olivarez joined Neil Cavuto on Fox News this week to explain that the federal government’s failure to enforce immigration laws—without consequences for illegal border crossings—will continue to attract mass migrant caravans to the US-Mexico border.
“There are no consequences from the federal government to prevent illegal border crossings,” said Lt. Olivarez. “As long as the federal government continues to incentivize and reward illegal immigration, we’re going to continue seeing these large caravans, these trains that are being used to transport these migrants further to the border to their entrance through Texas or Arizona—and those are the challenges we’re having to face as a state.”
On Black Friday, a driver attempted to evade arrest in Webb County after a DPS trooper attempted to stop him for a traffic violation. The smuggler, from Laredo, allowed five illegal immigrants to bail out of the vehicle before driving away.
After a short pursuit, the driver crashed the vehicle and evaded on foot. The man was arrested and charged with evading arrest and smuggling of persons.
A human smuggler led DPS and Florida Highway Patrol troopers on a high-speed vehicle pursuit in Kinney County. The driver refused to stop, driving on the wrong side of the road and reaching speeds of 110 miles per hour. The driver, from Illinois, eventually crashed into a barrier at Laughlin Air Force Base in neighboring Val Verde County.
The driver was arrested and charged with evading arrest, smuggling of persons, and smuggling of persons under the age of 18. Five illegal immigrants, including a 7-year-old child, were apprehended and referred to Border Patrol.
Texas National Guard members assigned to Task Force South seized more than 800 lbs. of narcotics being smuggled across the Texas-Mexico border in a 10-day period.
“The work our service members are performing along the Texas border is imperative to national security,” said Lt. Col. Wayne Sanaghan, 432nd Air Expeditionary Group Commander. “Over the last ten days, we’ve successfully prevented approximately 845 lbs. of narcotics from being trafficked into our country. We are proud of our Texas National Guard members on this mission and are grateful for our partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety.”
Staff Sgt. Gustavo Miranda, a platoon sergeant for the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Company (SRC) in Task Force East, and Sgt. Chad Dobie, a squad leader for Charlie Company in Task Force East, describe the duties, expectations, and specialized training of soldiers serving on Operation Lone Star in the Rio Grande Valley.
“We conduct brush and riverine operations,” said Sgt. Miranda. “We go wherever there’s higher activity involving traffic. Most of the people who join SRC are highly motivated individuals. They want to be more active, more mobile, and more hands on. I do believe we are making a difference out here.”
