The state of Texas, under the leadership of Governor Greg Abbott, has been steadfast in its effort to secure its border amidst what is described as a federal absence in tackling the issue. According to a statement by the Governor's office, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard have been actively involved in Operation Lone Star, an initiative launched to curb the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people, as well as to prevent transnational criminal activities along the state's border.
Since the onset of the operation, authorities have reported more than 514,900 illegal immigrant apprehensions and in excess of 44,600 criminal arrests. The state's law enforcement has also managed to significantly impede the flow of fentanyl, seizing more than 504 million lethal doses. This statistic alone underscores the critical nature of the operation's intent to directly combat the ongoing fentanyl crisis, which has ravaged communities across not just Texas, but the nation. In a rather straightforward escalation, Texas has also forcibly transported tens of thousands of migrants to various cities across the United States, manifesting as a brazen statement on immigration policies under the current administration.
Detailing the scale of this transportation, Texas officials have disclosed the numbers: over 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C.; upwards of 45,900 to New York City; more than 36,900 to Chicago; over 3,400 to Philadelphia; in excess of 19,200 to Denver; and beyond 1,500 to Los Angeles. These moves have been presented by Texas leadership as necessary countermeasures to effectively and necessarily respond to what they perceive as President Joe Biden’s lax border policies.
Amidst ongoing national security concerns, Governor Abbott's office continues to assert that Operation Lone Star is imperative to maintain order and safety. Each arrest and seizure is argued to directly decrease the potential harm that could impact Texan communities and, by extension, the broader fabric of American society. The operation's aggressive strategies serve to underscore the state's take-charge stance in the absence of robust federal measures, representing a unilateral form of state-level border governance designed to arguably repair the dangerous gaps that the state believes have been left by the Biden Administration’s approach.
