texas border operations
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard continue to cooperate with border security efforts. Stopping the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas. Prevent, detect and deter cross-border criminal activity between ports of entry.
Since the beginning of Operation Lone Star, multi-agency efforts have resulted in more than 523,100 illegal immigrant arrests, more than 47,800 criminal arrests, and more than 41,300 felony charges. In the fight against the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized more than 551 million lethal doses of fentanyl. This is enough to kill all U.S. and Mexican men, women, and children combined during this border mission.
Texas has reduced illegal border crossings into the state by more than 86% thanks to a historic border patrol mission. Fewer people entering Texas illegally means fewer migrants being transported to sanctuary cities. Since the inception of Texas’ transportation program, the state has transported:
More than 12,500 immigrants to Washington DC since April 2022 More than 45,900 immigrants to New York City since August 2022 More than 36,900 immigrants to Chicago since August 2022 3,400+ immigrants to Philadelphia 19,200+ immigrants to Denver since May 2023 1,500+ immigrants to Los Angeles since June 2023
Operation Lone Star continues to bridge the dangerous gap created by the federal government’s refusal to secure the border. Otherwise, due to open border policies, every individual arrested or apprehended and every drug seized would have entered communities in Texas and across the country.
Recent highlights from Operation Lone Star:
Last night, Governor Abbott spoke at the annual meeting of the South Texas Property Rights Association (STPRA) in Corpus Christi about Texas’ unprecedented border patrol mission and the dangerous Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua (TdA). ) emphasized a comprehensive state-wide operation to crack down on.
“For nearly 20 years, the South Texas Property Rights Association has been fighting to ensure the security of our border with Mexico,” said Governor Abbott. “Our latest battle is against Torren de Aragua, which is why last month I tasked the Texas Department of Public Safety with launching a statewide operation directly targeting Torren de Aragua and combating their The law enforcement agencies in Texas have already begun arresting known and suspected suspects in Torren de Aragua.
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Yesterday on X, formerly known as Twitter, Governor Abbott shared a video of construction workers installing boundary wall panels in Maverick County.
Texas will continue to put the safety of Americans first and fill gaps in the federal government.
Recently, DPS officers arrested members of Houston’s Torren de Aragua gang who were attempting to recruit more members to this dangerous gang.
Last month, Governor Abbott directed DPS to designate TdA as a foreign terrorist organization, create the TdA Strike Team to identify and arrest TdA gang members, and elevate TdA to a Tier 1 gang.
Texas will continue to disrupt TdA’s criminal activities and deny it a foothold in the state.
On Weekend X, Governor Abbott provided an update on Texas’ ongoing border security efforts to combat the federally-induced border crisis.
Texas is working hard to secure our borders and protect our communities and nation.
Over the weekend, DPS officers used force to stop illegal border crossings in parts of Maverick County along the Texas-Mexico border.
DPS personnel working on Operation Lone Star are prepared to intercept and repel illegal immigration between ports of entry to protect Texans and their property.
On Wednesday, 17-year-old smuggler Alejandro Valderrama Jr., of Mission, driving a Pontiac G6, led DPS units on a high-speed chase through Hidalgo County. The driver ran multiple red lights and eventually lost control of the vehicle. After colliding with a utility pole, Valderrama escaped and ran toward the gardens of several homes. He quickly hid in a horse stall and was spotted trying to hide inside a cardboard box.
Two illegal immigrants from Mexico also escaped from the vehicle with Valderrama and were arrested by DPS Brush Team officers. Six other illegal immigrants from Mexico remained in the vehicle.
Valderrama was charged with smuggling a person likely to cause serious injury or death and evading arrest. All eight illegal immigrants were turned over to the Border Patrol.
A smuggler driving a Chevrolet Malibu led DPS officers on a high-speed chase in Webb County on Tuesday. During the pursuit, smuggler Guillermo Ost Navarrette, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, ignored several stop signs and crashed into a DPS special agent’s vehicle. Navarreta got out of the car, resisted arrest and assaulted a Border Patrol agent.
DPS officers arrested Navarrette and charged him with three counts of human smuggling, evading arrest, and assault on a peace officer. Three illegal immigrants, also from Mexico, who were smuggled into the country in a car were turned over to the Border Patrol.
DPS intercepts more than 500 illegal immigrants in Maverick County
This week, DPS police intercepted multiple large groups totaling more than 500 illegal immigrants in Maverick County. Among them were 39 illegal immigrants from special interest countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Iran, Mali, and Turkey.
More than 100 unaccompanied children were also recovered from these groups.
Texas and Indiana Army National Guards stop illegal crossings
Earlier this week, Texas National Guard soldiers assigned to Task Force West Echo Company teamed up with the Indiana Army National Guard to stop migrants attempting to illegally enter Texas from Mexico this week.
Advanced optical sensors detected small groups from a distance, and soldiers responded. The first crossers reached the triple-stranded razor wire that cut off access to the Texas shore of the Rio Grande. The illegal immigrants found the soldiers and returned to Mexico.
Texas National Guard helps apprehend illegal immigrants
Earlier this week, Texas National Guard troops on a search and identification mission using M2S2s intercepted an illegal crossing attempt by a large group near the Blue Bridge and the Texas-Mexico-New Mexico truss.
M2S2 found six males in the brush along the river near the bridge. The drone was maneuvered to immediately resume surveillance of illegal migrants who had entered the sea to seek refuge. Once the illegal immigrants were precisely located, the Texas National Guard was directed to the location, eight of them were turned back, and law enforcement partners arrested two others.
Joint Task Force Lone Star continues border security
At Task Force West, near Sanderson, a drone team this week spotted a group of undocumented immigrants trying to evade arrest by law enforcement partners.
The sUAS team continued to monitor the group as Texas National Guard ground forces and law enforcement partners intercepted the group. Five illegal immigrants were arrested by law enforcement.
Texas National Guard continues to fortify Shelby Park
This week, the Texas National Guard, in conjunction with the Texas Emergency Management Agency, continued to place shipping containers throughout the Turtle Creek area of Shelby Park to enhance border security.
The 10 shipping containers added hundreds of feet of additional barriers to deter and repel illegal river crossings.