
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in conjunction with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas National Guard, announced continued efforts to combat illegal immigration and criminal activity at the border, under an operation dubbed Operation Lone Star. According to Office of the Governor Greg Abbott website, the initiative has led to over 516,300 undocumented immigrant apprehensions and more than 45,300 criminal arrests, while the ongoing endeavor has also been responsible for capturing significant quantities of illicit drugs, including fentanyl.
Abbott's administration has highlighted the seizure of more than 505 million lethal doses of fentanyl, an amount said to be capable of ending lives across the US and Mexico, while underscoring the effort the state has taken to fill "dangerous gaps" it claims were left by the Biden Administration's policies. Within this extensive operation, more than 12,500 migrants have been transported to Washington, D.C. since April of 2022, in addition to thousands more relocated to other major cities across the nation; and the operation further touts a recent case where three illegal immigrants fled a vehicle stop in Kinney County, with the driver arrested for smuggling of persons.
Abbott recently acknowledged the addition of two fugitives to the Texas' 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants List, a move the Governor claims will allow for a unified effort to remove dangerous individuals from communities. This update followed a public display of Texas National Guard soldiers patrolling the Rio Grande River, which Abbott shared online earlier this week, a measure he says is crucial to stem the tide of illegal crossings.
Among the multitude of incidents recounted by Governor Abbott's office, details emerged of a welfare check in Webb County leading to the detection of a stash house with 15 undocumented immigrants and of an apprehension of a smuggler who had compromised the border's physical barriers, further incidents emphasized by the operation include the arrests of human traffilers and the involvement of Texas National Guard soldiers in tracking and detaining suspected illegal immigrants near Sanderson, Texas.