Houston Daily

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are collaborating with federal authorities to address border security concerns. They aim to stop drugs, weapons, and human smuggling into Texas and curb criminal activities across international borders.

Since the inception of Operation Lone Star, more than 532,100 illegal immigrants have been apprehended, and over 52,400 criminal arrests have been made, with more than 44,500 of those resulting in felony charges. Texas law enforcement’s efforts to combat fentanyl distribution have led to the confiscation of over 668 million lethal doses, emphasized as enough to wipe out the populations of the US, Mexico, and Canada combined.

Texas Governor Abbott expressed that the objectives of Operation Lone Star extend to addressing perceived policy shortfalls by the federal administration. He stated, "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 open border policies."

Utilizing K-9 units, efforts to secure the Texas-Mexico border are ongoing. "K9s play a major role to secure the border," said Abbott on social media, highlighting the cooperation between state forces and U.S. Customs and Border Protection in these operations.

In a recent joint operation, Texas and federal law enforcement arrested more than 40 members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, a significant figure exploited by the Governor to underscore the success of state and federal partnerships. DPS is focusing efforts on this gang under directions to elevate it to a Tier 1 threat level.

The DPS, in cooperation with various law enforcement agencies, arrested Anderson Ronaldo Reyes Giron, 25, from the Texas’ 10 Most Wanted list in Austin, wanted on charges of deadly conduct and theft of property. In another operation in Webb County, DPS arrested Albing Pablo Rivera Leal, a Mexican national, for trafficking large quantities of cocaine and black tar heroin valued over $205,000.

Other operations have involved DPS K-9 units, which were instrumental in apprehending four illegal immigrants traveling through Webb County along with assisting in various other border patrol tasks aimed at curbing illegal activities.

Sergeant William Brooks of the Texas National Guard described efforts his team undertakes to patrol the Rio Grande, "We are going to get armed and draw all our necessary equipment for today's mission... I do believe we are making a difference because the number of crossings have come down significantly in the last couple of weeks."

Training initiatives for K-9 medical care were conducted to ensure readiness and effectiveness of the K-9 units in field operations, concluding with practical exercises vital for their roles in law enforcement and military activities.