Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the work of the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard for its work on Operation Lone Star, which protected the state from the smuggling of deadly drugs.
A news release from the Office of Gov. Abbott stated that Operation Lone Star has resulted in the seizure of more than 622 million lethal doses of fentanyl, which is “enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, Mexico, and Canada combined.”
Operation Lone Star is a multi-agency effort launched in 2021 by the state government in an attempt to “fill the dangerous gaps created by the federal government’s refusal to secure the border.”
Since 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported more than 2.1 million encounters with illegal immigrants along the southern border, which is a trend that is expected to change following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Abbott also stated in the news release that the operation has “led to over 530,600 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 50,000 criminal arrests, with more than 43,000 felony charges.”
Additionally, one of the biggest pieces of this operation comes from a controversial busing program in which migrants are transported to sanctuary cities across the country.
This busing program first began in April 2022 and has resulted in nearly 120,000 migrants being transported to six different sanctuary cities.
These actions in Operation Lone Star come as officials continue to work against illegal immigration and the smuggling of deadly drugs state, with Abbott previously posting on social media to detail some of the work done in this fight.
Abbott posted on X, formerly Twitter, to share pictures of Texas National Guard soldiers installing barriers along the southern border.
“Texas’ tireless efforts under Operation Lone Star are highly effective to deter illegal immigration,” wrote the governor.
“Our historic border security decreased illegal crossings by 87%.”