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 342,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 23,000 criminal arrests, with more than 21,000 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 356 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.
Texas has also bused more than 9,100 migrants to our nation’s capital since April, over 5,200 migrants to New York City since August 5, more than 1,500 migrants to Chicago since August 31, and more than 890 migrants to Philadelphia since November 15.
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:
Governor Abbott Hand-Delivers Letter To President Biden At Border Visit
Governor Abbott hand-delivered a letter to President Joe Biden on Sunday, upon his arrival in El Paso for his first trip to the border, calling on him to do his job and secure the border by enforcing federal immigration laws.
In the letter, the Governor provided five specific actions the President can immediately take to secure the border and restore order to an out-of-control immigration crisis.
“This chaos is the direct result of your failure to enforce the immigration laws that Congress enacted,” reads the letter. “Your open-border policies have emboldened the cartels, who grow wealthy by trafficking deadly fentanyl and even human beings. Texans are paying an especially high price for your failure, sometimes with their very lives, as local leaders from your own party will tell you if given the chance. On behalf of all Americans, I implore you: Secure our border by enforcing Congress’s immigration laws.”
Read the Governor’s hand-delivered letter to President Biden.
WATCH: Governor Abbott Describes Confronting Biden About Border Inaction
Governor Abbott spoke with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner on Monday after hand-delivering a letter to President Biden during his first visit to the border the day before. After greeting the President on the tarmac in El Paso, the Governor detailed existing policies the President must enforce to finally start addressing the chaos his open border polices have created.
“I specifically pointed to several issues in the letter that I wanted him to focus on,” said Governor Abbott. “These points that I have laid out—about ending catch-and-release, detaining people who are coming across the border illegally, turning back people who have crossed the border illegally—all of those are things the President and the United States already have the legal authority to do but they are not doing. Until they step up and start doing this, all these other things they are doing are nothing more than a dog and pony show, and it is not going to stop anybody from coming across the border illegally.”
WATCH: Governor Abbott Discusses Laws Biden Must Enforce To Secure Border
Governor Abbott joined Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday ahead of President Biden’s first-ever visit to America’s southern border for a wide-ranging discussion of the actions the President must take to combat the ongoing border crisis. The Governor highlighted the effectiveness of Texas installing shipping containers and razor wire as barriers near El Paso to stem the massive influx of illegal immigration.
“This visit is about two years too late and about $20 billion short of what needs to be done,” said Governor Abbott. “President Biden’s plan is not border enforcement; it’s border enticement. We have very simple solutions the Biden Administration could apply to do something about this if they wanted to. But they really don’t care about stopping illegal immigration. Biden is there today to look at a sanitized El Paso so he can help and aid the illegal immigrants as opposed to stopping them from coming into our country.”
