On Friday, Governor Greg Abbott met with over 100 Texas sheriffs at the state capitol to support Operation Lone Star, a state initiative to address illegal immigration across the Texas border.
“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, deter, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry,” said Abbott in a press release about the initiative.
The sheriffs, led by the Texas Sheriffs Association, visited with Governor Abbott at the Capitol, joined him at a press conference, and signed a letter of support for Operation Lone Star.
In the letter, President of the Texas Sheriffs Association, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said, “the unsecured border is a deliberate, destructive, and inhumane violation of Texas and federal law. It overwhelms the resources of Texas and the United State and encourages continued invasion by unknown criminals and unvetted persons.”
According to the Governor’s press release, “since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 505,800 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 41,000 criminal arrests, with more than 36,500 felony charges. In the fight against the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized over 470 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.”
Governor Abbott used social media to announce that Texas would reinforce the razor wire barriers and would continue to arrest illegal immigrants involved in criminal trespass or property destruction.
As an example of the program results, DPS Troopers apprehended a human trafficker in Kinney County. The incident led to a high-speed pursuit and ultimate arrest of the man and the rescue of five illegal immigrants.
Troopers also arrested 17 illegal immigrants for criminal trespass in Eagle Pass after they unlawfully entered private property along the Rio Grande River.
Several states, including the Tennessee National Guard recently joined Operation Lone Star as part of a collaborative effort between the states to improve border security. The joint efforts are intended to deter crime, confront the cartels, and prevent illegal immigration across the US-Mexico border.
The collaborative effort has also resulted in interceptions of drugs and human trafficking along the border.
