AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard continue 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.
Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 495,400 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 38,300 criminal arrests, with more than 34,700 felony charges. In the fight against the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized over 453 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.
Texas has also bused:
Over 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022
Over 37,100 migrants to New York City since August 2022
Over 30,800 migrants to Chicago since August 2022
Over 3,400 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022
Over 15,700 migrants to Denver since May 18
Over 1,500 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.
On Sunday, Governor Abbott joined Fox News Sunday to discuss New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ lawsuit against bus companies participating in Texas’ migrant transportation strategy. During the interview, the Governor argued that Mayor Adams should sue President Biden, who is the real culprit of his city’s migrant crisis.
“The Mayor sued the wrong party,” said Governor Abbott. “If the Mayor is really trying to cut down on the number of illegal immigrants coming into New York, he needs to be suing Joe Biden—not these bus companies, because it’s Joe Biden and Joe Biden’s policies that’s causing the massive, multi-million influx into the United States that leads to many of them wanting to go to New York.”
On Tuesday, Governor Abbott announced that over 100,000 migrants have been transported to sanctuary cities as part of Texas’ migrant transportation strategy to relieve overwhelmed border towns.
This week, Governor Abbott shared footage of progress being made in the construction of Texas’ own border wall—the only state in U.S. history to build its own border wall.
DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez spoke with Fox News’ Lawrence Jones in Eagle Pass this week. Lt. Olivarez described the importance of DPS’ helicopter operations to support Operation Lone Star’s border security mission.
“They are the eyes in the sky,” said Lt. Olivarez. “They not only provide support for our state troopers on the ground, but also other agencies as well. It’s very vital to border security. That’s what you’re going to see right now firsthand—what our pilots are doing every single day in Eagle Pass.”
Earlier this week, Fox News’ Lawrence Jones joined DPS troopers to highlight Texas’ efforts by land, air, and water to secure the Texas-Mexico border. During the embed, DPS trooper Jacklyn Gooding discussed how ruthless Mexican cartels are using President Biden’s open border policies to profit off human trafficking operations.
“They’re making money on getting bodies across the border,” said Trooper Gooding. “We see it in other areas like Houston, for example, where it is human sex trafficking, child trafficking. All of it is about getting them over here and making even more money once they’re over.”
DPS responded to a call from a private ranch in Jim Hogg County regarding people trespassing on the property. With the assistance of US Customs Aviation, troopers tracked and apprehended two illegal immigrants from Mexico on the ranch. Both were arrested and charged with criminal trespass.
Earlier this week in Laredo, Texas National Guard soldiers helped law enforcement partners capture a group of migrants attempting to evade arrest using anti-tracking techniques after crossing into Texas illegally. Soldiers discovered that the group was wearing foam blocks on the bottoms of their shoes to hide their tracks in the sand.
“It makes it easier for them to escape, because a lot of the time they don’t leave any tracks whatsoever behind when they use [foam blocks], which can allow potentially dangerous individuals to enter this country and evade arrest,” said Spc. Carson Lampkin, Alpha Company, Task Force Center. “I believe that we’re making a huge difference here in Laredo. Personally—me, myself, and my teammates—we have caught many pedophiles and actual murderers that were wanted in other countries.”
