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Governor Greg Abbott, alongside the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas National Guard, continues to collaborate with the Trump Administration on border security initiatives. These efforts aim to curb drug, weapon, and human smuggling into Texas and address transnational criminal activities at border entry points.
Since Operation Lone Star began, over 533,800 illegal immigrants have been apprehended, with more than 54,300 criminal arrests recorded. This includes over 45,800 felony charges. In response to the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized over 735 million lethal doses of fentanyl.
The operation aims to counteract what is described as damage from current federal policies. "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," according to statements from the operation.
Recent highlights include Governor Abbott's praise for former President Donald Trump's leadership in border security. Abbott emphasized that no illegal immigrants were released into America last month under this administration's strategies.
Last week saw DPS assisting federal partners in arresting human smugglers. Photos shared by Governor Abbott showed DPS brush teams collaborating with federal agencies for these operations.
In Hidalgo County, DPS special agents responded to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) call at the Pharr Port of Entry regarding a suspected narcotics smuggling case involving a gray 2012 Freightliner truck tractor. A secondary inspection revealed a false compartment containing methamphetamine valued at $2.4 million. The driver, Luis Fernando Sarinana Matias from Reynosa, Mexico, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance.
Additionally, DPS' Border Mounted Patrol Unit helped apprehend two illegal immigrants on a private ranch in Brackettville earlier this month.
A separate incident involved a concerned citizen alerting authorities about a minor crash at an IH-37 truck stop in George West. This led to discovering 25 illegal immigrants inside a box truck driven by Silvia Patricia Santamaria from Houston. She was charged with multiple counts of smuggling persons.
Another operation involved DPS troopers stopping a Ford F-150 towing hay bales in Val Verde County where two illegal immigrants were found hiding underneath the bales after a K-9 unit search.
Lastly, senior leaders from the Texas National Guard met with U.S. Department of Defense Chief Information Officer Katie Arrington to discuss cybersecurity tactics for securing critical infrastructure against foreign threats.
"In today’s threat environment – where challenges to our border and critical infrastructure are growing more complex – interoperability and coordination between federal and state agencies are essential," said Lieutenant Colonel Chris Winnek during Arrington's visit to Camp Mabry.