Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing their efforts to secure the border, halt smuggling activities, and counter transnational criminal activity between ports of entry.
According to data from the state, since the inception of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency initiative has resulted in over 511,300 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 42,900 criminal arrests, with over 37,900 felony charges. In response to the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has confiscated over 481 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.
In addition, Texas has transported migrants to various cities across the country since April 2022. These include over 12,500 migrants to Washington D.C., more than 44,500 migrants to New York City, over 36,000 migrants to Chicago, around 3,400 migrants to Philadelphia, more than 18,800 migrants to Denver and over 1,500 migrants to Los Angeles.
Operation Lone Star aims at addressing the dangerous gaps created by what Governor Abbott describes as "the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border." According to Abbott, each person apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise entered communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
Recent highlights from Operation Lone Star include Governor Abbott sharing footage on X (formerly known as Twitter) of continuous border wall construction in Maverick County. He stated that Texas is the first and only state constructing its own border wall.
In another post last week, Governor Abbott shared photos of Texas National Guard soldiers reinforcing razor wire along the Texas-Mexico border. He emphasized that Texas will continue using all available tools and strategies for protecting both state and national interests against what he calls "President Biden’s reckless open border policies."
In a recent incident, DPS troopers pursued a smuggler, Carlos Lombardich-Villalobos, in Val Verde County. After crashing his vehicle and attempting to flee, Villalobos was located and arrested with the help of DPS' Aircraft Operations Division. He was charged with multiple offenses including smuggling of persons and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
In another arrest last week, DPS troopers arrested two human smugglers from Tennessee in Uvalde County. The suspects were charged with smuggling of persons and criminal trespass.
The Texas National Guard also assisted local law enforcement in seizing 24 pounds of narcotics valued at nearly $60,000. They also used drone technology to assist law enforcement officers in arresting four illegal immigrants who had just crossed the border.
