Despite harsh criticism from Democrats and the media, a border security operation in Texas has captured many illegal immigrants, including thousands of criminals, and the seizure of millions of pills of fentanyl. In March 2021, as an unlawful immigration crisis swept throughout his border state, Governor Greg Abbott initiated a scheme known as Operation Lone Star.
The federal government is responsible for securing the notoriously vulnerable southern border. Still, in practice, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Texas National Guard has stepped up.
The governor’s office announced Operation Lone Star in a press release in 2021, stating that the state “had to take charge” to combat the smuggling of people and drugs. The operation combines DPS with the Texas National Guard and sends air, ground, marine, and tactical border security resources to high-threat areas.
Abbott has stated that the Biden Administration’s actions of refusing to protect the border and inviting illegal immigration have contributed to the escalation of the issue at the southern border. The Governor’s Office guarantees the mission will proceed to fill the hazardous voids that the Biden Administration’s reluctance to safeguard the wall has created.
Texas officials argue that the president’s open border policy meant that every person detained and every ounce of drugs confiscated during Operation Lone Star could have otherwise made their way into neighborhoods nationwide.
Recent data shows that Operation Lone Star has been successful despite criticism from the left. Over 348,000 illegal immigrants and 24,000 offenders have been arrested since the multi-agency effort began. DPS has recently made a shocking drug seizure of over 361 million doses of fentanyl.
Since April, Texas has bused over 9,100 migrants to Washington, D.C.; since August 5, over 5,200 have been transported to New York City; since August 31, over 1,500 have been transported to Chicago; and since November 15, over 8,90 have been transported to Philadelphia. Herein includes instances where Operation Lone Star successfully thwarted attempts to bring illegal substances, weapons, or people into Texas.
Because of the extraordinary nature of the crisis on the southwest border, it poses a severe threat to national security. Although the most recent official data show a fall in the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border each month, this isn’t very sensible because it is still much below the record-high levels seen during the Biden administration.
In January 2023, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 128,000 illegal immigrants, and federal inspectors at the port of entry turned away another 28,000. The most recent monthly number is not terrible, especially when compared to the records that have been broken for illegal immigration under Biden. Federal officials caught a record 1,659,206 illegal immigrants in his first year in office, surpassing the previous high of 1,643,679 set in 2000.
During President Trump’s final year in office, federal officials apprehended 400,651 people for crossing the Mexican border illegally.
Unfortunately, the situation is only becoming worse as the Biden presidency continues. The first quarter of the fiscal year 2022 was similarly quite successful, increasing by 137% from the previous year’s fourth quarter. From an already incredible high of 1.7 million in 2021, the Border Patrol detained a record-breaking 2.4 million migrants by the end of 2022.
Hundreds of the notoriously violent Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members and scores of persons on the national terrorist watchlist were detained. There were thousands of pounds of drugs, primarily methamphetamine, seized by federal officials.
The enormous numbers paint a picture of a lawless and chaotic border region between Mexico and the United States, which has spread northward into many parts of the country. While the federal government continues to fail its citizens, Texans at least have Operation Lone Star to rely on.