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AUSTIN — Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.
Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 373,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 28,000 criminal arrests, with more than 25,000 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, Texas law enforcement has seized over 402 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.
Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border. 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 President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
Recent highlight from Operation Lone Star: Governor Abbott deploys new Texas Tactical Border Force On May 8, Gov. Abbott announced the deployment of the new Texas Tactical Border Force to the Texas-Mexico border to respond to the growing border crisis. With President Biden ending Title 42 on May 11, the Governor is enhancing Texas’ unprecedented border security efforts with the tactical deployment of hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers to join the thousands already deployed as part of Operation Lone Star and serve on the new border force for targeted responses as the nation braces for a spike in illegal immigration.
“With the ending of Title 42 on Thursday, President Biden is laying down the welcome mat to people across the entire world, but Texas is deploying our new Texas Tactical Border Force,” said Gov. Abbott. “The Texas National Guard is loading Blackhawk helicopters and C-130s and deploying specially trained soldiers for the Texas Tactical Border Force, who will be deployed to hotspots all along the border to help intercept and repel large groups of migrants trying to enter Texas illegally.”
“The Texas Department of Public Safety is increasing resources at the border, and we are deploying hundreds of troopers around the state, including enhanced tactical teams and field force operations teams, to hold the line,” said Director McCraw. “There are 29 places you can cross into the U.S. legally, and our job is to ensure we hold that line and keep those the only places these people can cross.”
The deployment of the new Texas Tactical Border Force represents the third phase of the Governor’s increased border security mission as President Biden ends Title 42.
The first completed phase began last month with the shifting of Texas National Guard soldiers and assets, such as drone teams and razor wire barriers, to hotspots along the Texas-Mexico border. On May 7, a second phase was implemented with the deployment of two quick reaction forces composed of military police units, one in El Paso and one deployed from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley.
With the end of Title 42, the Biden Administration estimates up to 13,000 migrants will illegally cross America’s southern border every single day, which could total more than 4.7 million new illegal immigrants in the next year, or roughly the population of Houston’s Harris County.
To learn what additional actions the Governor is taking to secure the border, visit borderwall. texas.gov.
