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Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard continue to collaborate on securing the border, stopping the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas, and preventing transnational criminal activity between ports of entry.
Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, this multi-agency effort has resulted in over 516,600 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 45,500 criminal arrests, with over 39,500 felony charges. In combating the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized over 506 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.
Texas has also transported:
- Over 12,500 migrants to Washington D.C. since April 2022
- Over 45,900 migrants to New York City since August 2022
- Over 36,900 migrants to Chicago since August 2022
- Over 3,400 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022
- Over 19,200 migrants to Denver since May 2023
- Over 1,500 migrants to Los Angeles since June 2023
Operation Lone Star aims to address what officials describe as gaps created by federal policies. Governor Abbott criticized Vice President Kamala Harris' handling of border issues during a Fox News interview with Kayleigh McEnany. "Regardless of title," said Abbott. "[Kamala Harris] was in charge of the [Biden-Harris] Administration’s dealing on the border... She did not see the chaos that Texas and other states must deal with every single day."
In another interview on Fox News with Sandra Smith and John Roberts, Governor Abbott commented on Vice President Harris’ approach: "[Vice President Harris] was the border czar... She gets a grade of F- for that border because we’ve had the largest number of illegal border crossings ever in history."
Governor Abbott highlighted via social media that Texas has seized over half a billion lethal doses of fentanyl since Operation Lone Star began in 2021. He attributed these seizures to state efforts rather than federal policies.
Additionally, Governor Abbott shared news about Texas National Guard engineers installing new triple-strand razor wire along the El Paso border as part of ongoing deterrence measures.
Texas Border Czar Mike Banks stated that under Operation Lone Star's historic mission, illegal immigration into Texas has decreased by 85%.
Recent highlights from Operation Lone Star include:
A DPS Brush team arrested a smuggling guide in Rio Grande Valley who admitted being paid $100 per person for smuggling illegal immigrants into Texas. The guide was charged with smuggling persons while illegal immigrants were referred to Border Patrol.
In Maverick County yesterday, a DPS Brush Team located three illegal immigrants trespassing on private property. They were taken into custody and charged with criminal trespass.
Earlier this month in El Paso during a multi-agency operation involving drone technology assistance from Texas National Guard soldiers led to seizing significant quantities of THC and other contraband.
Earlier this week along the border area known for smuggling activities saw two smugglers apprehended with nearly fifty pounds worth narcotics seized due alertness shown by soldiers who notified law enforcement partners leading successful interception making three arrests overall.