Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is celebrating Operation Lone Star’s work in managing the crisis along the southern border.
Operation Lone Star is a joint initiative by the Texas Department of Safety and the Texas National Guard that launched in 2021 in an attempt to manage the alarmingly high number of people crossing illegally.
The number of illegal aliens has significantly increased since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, prompting Abbott and other elected officials to come together to create a system to manage the arrivals.
Since Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported that there have been more than 8.5 million encounters with illegal aliens along the southern border.
One of the most consequential portions of Operation Lone Star was a busing program that Abbott implemented to transport illegal aliens to sanctuary cities across the country.
Since the busing program began in April 2022, there have been more than 119,400 illegal aliens transported to spots around the country; however, this number is now coming closer to zero, according to a news release from The Office of Gov. Greg Abbott.
Abbott recently claimed that Texas has single-handedly reduced the number of illegal crossings, explaining that it was due to a “robust, comprehensive approach by Texas” and Biden only “stepped and rode on our coattails,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The governor stated that this operation aimed to eliminate the number of illegal crossings, increase barriers such as the buoys, and beef up measures to stop illegal aliens from crossing between states.
“We’ve got to understand the context of all of this. Let’s assume Texas does succeed in reducing illegal immigration 100% into our state, which is our goal,” Abbott said, per News Nation.
“All those terrorists, all those murders, all those rapists, they’re just going to go through New Mexico and Arizona and California.”
While reaching zero illegal crossings is a difficult goal for Operation Lone Star, Abbott wanted to send a message to anyone considering entering Texas illegally.
“If there are people coming our way, we want them to know something,” he said, per News Nation. “You’re not allowed to cross illegally into the state of Texas.”