Operation Lone Star Ramps Up Busing Of Migrants To NYC, D.C. To Provide Relief To Border Communities
AUSTIN - 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 more than 290,700 migrant apprehensions and more than 18,000 criminal arrests, with more than 15,400 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 325.9 million lethal doses throughout the state. Texas has also transported over 6,500 migrants to the nation's capital--and now New York City--since beginning the busing mission in April to provide 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:
Governor Abbott Announces First Bus Of Migrants Arrives In New York City
Governor Abbott today announced the arrival of the first group of migrants bused to New York City from Texas. New York City will now be a drop-off location with Washington, D.C. for the busing strategy as part of the Governor's response to the Biden Administration's open border policies that are overwhelming Texas communities.
"In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city,” said Governor Abbott. “I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief."
Read the Governor's announcement.
Governor Abbott Invites Mayors of NYC, D.C. To Texas Border
On Monday, Governor Abbott sent a letter to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, inviting the mayors to visit Texas’ southern border to see the humanitarian crisis firsthand. With President Biden’s open border policies continuing to invite record-high numbers of illegal immigrants and transnational criminal activity into Texas communities, the Governor’s migrant busing mission has provided much-needed relief to overwhelmed local communities along the border.
"As Governor, I invite you to visit our border region to see firsthand the dire situation that only grows more urgent with each passing day, and to meet with the local officials, who like yourselves, realize this matter deserves immediate federal action,” reads the letter.
WATCH: Governor Abbott Discusses Democrat Mayors’ Reaction To Texas' Busing Strategy
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Governor Abbott pointed out the hypocrisy of the New York City and Washington, D.C. mayors, who were unconcerned about the influx of illegal immigrants when it only affected southern border states like Texas. With buses of migrants arriving in her city, D.C. Mayor Bowser last week requested assistance from the National Guard in managing newly arrived migrants into her city.
“As soon as they have to deal with the real consequences of the crisis, they are up in arms calling for the National Guard when they are only dealing with a faction of what we have to deal with every single day,” Governor Abbott said. “We’re going to keep sending those buses up there until they fully understand, and most importantly, until the Biden Administration does its job to enforce the laws concerning the border."
WATCH: Governor Abbott Stresses Need For Federal Response To Border Crisis
This week, Governor Abbott joined Maria Bartiromo for Fox Nation’s Broken Border Crisis Summit to discuss how President Biden’s open border policies have led to chaos at the southern border. With the Biden Administration undoing President Trump’s major border security initiatives, Texas is left responding to the crisis by busing migrants to the nation’s capital--and New York City. The Governor notes that more than 6,000 people have been bused to Washington, D.C. since the April launch of the mission, but thousands more illegally cross the border each day.
“If we could educate more leaders across this country about the chaos caused by the Biden Administration, that would compel the Administration to step up and do its job under the Constitution and enforce the immigration laws that have been passed by Congress,“ said Governor Abbott.
WATCH: Governor Abbott Rebukes D.C., NYC Mayors' Claims Illegal Immigration Is Texas' Problem
Governor Abbott discussed with Fox News host Jesse Watters the ongoing border crisis and how it affects national security for the entire nation, not just Texas and other southern border states. Following New York City Mayor Adams' claims that Texas bears responsibility for the thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day, the Governor invited Mayor Adams and D.C. Mayor Bowser to visit the southern border and see firsthand the magnitude of the chaos created by President Biden's open border policies.
"They're up in arms about a few thousand people coming into their communities over the past few months. In any one sector in the State of Texas, we have more than 5,000 people coming into that sector every single day," said Governor Abbott. "Our communities are overrun."
DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez participated in Maria Bartiromo’s Broken Border Crisis Summit and gave a tour of the DPS drug warehouse in McAllen, where bundles of illegal drugs seized by Operation Lone Star are processed by DPS personnel. With dangerous cartels running multibillion-dollar smuggling businesses, Lt. Olivarez explains that once the bundles of packaged drugs are carried across the border they are broken up at stash houses and smuggled further into the country.
“What we’re seeing that’s unique from previous years is luring younger, juvenile Americans into criminal activity like human smuggling and drug smuggling because it’s being advertised through social media platforms,” said Lt. Olivarez. “There’s a lower prosecution risk for these juveniles, so they’re exploiting that.”
Texas National Guard Employ Advanced Assets To Stop Illegal Activities Along Border
The Texas National Guard use an array of assets to prevent, deter, and interdict transnational criminal activity in Texas’ border region, including advanced optic systems for detecting illegal crossings. The Tactical Response Units (TRU) employ boats to patrol the Rio Grande and respond to criminal activity and illegal crossings. The boat assets are used on water and land, while TRU soldiers communicate with multiple law enforcement agencies. Through tracking tools and radios, the cross-agency communications is crucial to the mission.
“We call in our teams and law enforcement to see if they have any suspected traffic coming across and then move up or down river to try to meet the rafts and people,” a member of the TRU boat crew explained.
(PHOTO: Texas Military Department)
WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Shares Update On Border Crisis As Bused Migrants Continue To Arrive In D.C.
DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez told Fox News that the communities along the border are completely overwhelmed with the relentless surge of illegal immigrants. He explained how Governor Abbott listened to the concerns of local officials with the migrant busing mission.
“I think it’s a great idea what Governor Abbott has done with inviting these mayors to Texas to see firsthand what we’re dealing with every day,” said Lt. Olivarez. “Some of these border communities have a population or 15,000 or 20,000 and they’re seeing 2,000 to 3,000 immigrants who are crossing every single day."
VIDEO: Texas National Guard Soldiers Take Pride In Operation Lone Star Mission
Texas Military soldiers describe their pride in contributing to the Operation Lone Star mission by keeping Texans across the state safe from transnational criminal activity.
“This mission is important, because I am out here on the frontlines. We have stopped sex offenders and gang members from coming into our borders,” said Senior Airman Gabriel Figueroa. “We are protecting our communities in Texas by minimizing the flow of drugs through our borders.”
VIDEO: Smuggler Leads DPS Troopers On High-Speed Pursuit In Cloned Work Truck
A smuggler driving a cloned work truck led DPS troopers on a high-speed chase in the Mission area. The smuggler and several illegal immigrants eventually bailed out and ran toward a residence. With the assistance of a U.S. Customs Aircraft Division, the smuggler and seven illegal immigrants were apprehended.