Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), 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 319,000 migrant apprehensions and more than 21,000 criminal arrests, with more than 18,700 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 346 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.
Texas has also bused over 8,200 migrants to our nation’s capital since April, over 3,400 migrants to New York City since August 5, and more than 1,100 migrants to Chicago since August 31. The busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities.
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 Biden’s open border policies.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:
WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Discusses Record Number Of Migrant Deaths At Border
DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez joined National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd in a discussion with Fox News about the record number of migrant deaths at the southern border. Despite President Biden claiming his open border policies are humane, a record 856 migrant deaths were reported in fiscal year 2022—more than double the record previous to his administration and outpacing the record set in fiscal year 2021.
“[The federal government] has failed to acknowledge the fact that we have a border crisis and has failed to acknowledge that not only Americans are dying [from fentanyl] but also migrants,” said Lt. Olivarez. “Everything we have been doing since last year with Operation Lone Star has been state funded, and we have not received any support or funding from the federal government. They need to acknowledge we have a crisis at our southern border, because it’s unacceptable.”
WATCH: DPS Stops Human Smuggling Attempt Of 84 Illegal Immigrants In Truck
DPS troopers stopped a dump truck for a commercial vehicle inspection on Interstate 35 in La Salle County. During the stop, numerous illegal immigrants fled from the truck’s cargo area and ran to the brush. The driver, from Poteet, was arrested and charged with 84 counts of human smuggling, and the illegal immigrants from Guatemala and Mexico were referred to Border Patrol.
WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Details Unprecedented Crisis At Southern Border
DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez spoke with Newsmax to highlight the unprecedented crisis currently unfolding along the southern border that includes a record number of illegal immigrants, gotaways, and illegal drug seizures under President Biden. Following historic low numbers of illegal border crossings under President Trump, a record 2.37 million encounters were reported at the southern border in fiscal year 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“[DPS has] to do our part to protect our citizens here in Texas, as well as the entire country,” said Lt. Olivarez. “The men and women of DPS are on the frontlines of this crisis, trying to stop the criminals, the gotaways, and the drugs that are coming across our ports of entry. It’s very important that Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, but it all falls back onto what the federal government is failing to do, and that is securing our border—a primary responsibility.”
