Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are persevering with to work collectively to safe the border; cease the smuggling of medicine, weapons, and other people into Texas; and stop, detect, and interdict transnational felony habits between ports of entry.
Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 317,000 migrant apprehensions and greater than 21,000 felony arrests, with greater than 18,600 felony costs reported. In the struggle in opposition to fentanyl, DPS has seized over 342 million deadly doses of fentanyl throughout this border mission.
Texas has additionally bused over 8,200 migrants to our nation’s capital since April, over 3,400 migrants to New York City since August 5, and greater than 1,000 migrants to Chicago since August 31. The busing mission is offering much-needed reduction to our overwhelmed border communities.
Operation Lone Star continues to fill the harmful gaps left by the Biden Administration’s refusal to safe the border. Every particular person who’s apprehended or arrested and each ounce of medicine seized would have in any other case made their method into communities throughout Texas and the nation as a consequence of President Biden’s open border insurance policies.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:
Governor Abbott Launches Statewide “One Pill Kills” Campaign
Governor Abbott this week introduced the launch of the State of Texas’ coordinated “One Pill Kills” marketing campaign to fight the rising nationwide fentanyl disaster, which is a lethal byproduct of President Biden’s open border insurance policies. Governor Abbott additionally introduced new legal guidelines to be thought of this upcoming legislative session that may classify fentanyl as a poisoning, enable charging a person for homicide in the event that they distribute fentanyl or medicine laced with fentanyl that kill somebody, and make NARCAN extra available throughout the state for Texans uncovered to fentanyl.
“Fentanyl remains the single deadliest drug threat our state and nation has ever encountered, killing four Texans every day,” mentioned Governor Abbott. “In the Biden Administration’s negligence to handle this nationwide safety risk, Texas has designated Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations and is launching a statewide public consciousness marketing campaign to struggle the fentanyl disaster in our state.”
Last month, Governor Abbott directed state agency leaders to ramp up efforts to answer the disaster, together with coordinating outreach to boost consciousness of fentanyl’s lethality and prevalence.
Read the press release asserting the statewide “One Pill Kills” marketing campaign.
Governor Abbott Holds Roundtable, Press Conference In Waco On Fentanyl Crisis
Governor Abbott held a press convention following a roundtable dialogue with state and native legislation enforcement at the DPS Waco Regional Laboratory on Tuesday to spotlight the newly launched “One Pill Kills” marketing campaign.
“Fentanyl is killing innocent Texans, with well over a thousand lives lost from communities across our state due to the pervasiveness of deadly synthetic opioids,” mentioned Governor Abbott. “This clandestine killer is produced and distributed by Mexican drug cartels, which cunningly disguise fentanyl to look like legitimate prescription medications, and even candy to appeal to children.”
Governor Abbott issued an executive order final month designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations and instructing DPS to take instant motion to maintain Texans protected amid the rising fentanyl disaster. The Governor additionally sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris requesting federal terrorist classifications for the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in addition to different cartels producing and distributing lethal fentanyl.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: Confronting Mexican Drug Cartels As Terrorists
In an op-ed for the El Paso Times, Governor Abbott explains the significance of his latest designation of Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations and why President Biden should take motion to confront the risks these transnational felony organizations pose to Texans throughout the state, in addition to the complete nation.
“President Biden has already declared the cartel-driven fentanyl and opioid crisis a national emergency on paper but is doing little to solve it in practice,” wrote Governor Abbott. “If our nation’s leaders truly care about ensuring Americans’ safety, President Biden will declare Mexican drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations, as Texas already has, and take actions to mitigate against increasingly deadly cartel threats surging across our border.”
A federal designation of Mexican drug cartels as international terrorist organizations would freeze cartel belongings, weakening the monetary help of trafficking actions. Federal investigators and prosecutors might additionally aggressively pursue the enhanced felony sentences relevant to drug traffickers who fund international terrorist organizations. Additionally, designating cartels as federal terrorist organizations would heighten public consciousness, whereas signaling to the worldwide neighborhood that America won’t tolerate terrorists who poison its residents.
Read Governor Abbott’s latest op-ed.
WATCH: DPS Director McCraw Discusses Governor Abbott’s Anti-Fentanyl Efforts
DPS Director Steve McCraw joined Fox News this week to debate Governor Abbott’s statewide “One Pill Kills” marketing campaign to fight the rising nationwide fentanyl disaster and the Mexican drug cartels that produce and distribute the lethal artificial opioid. Because the federal authorities is failing to safe the southern border and tackle the lethal risk of fentanyl, Governor Abbott has needed to deploy unprecedented assets to cease cartels from smuggling unlawful medicine into Texas communities.
“The Governor is not just focused on the enforcement portion [of combatting the crisis] but also education—enlisting state agencies, enlisting the communities across Texas, and enlisting the media to educate parents and adults about the dangers of fentanyl,” mentioned Director McCraw. “Mexican cartels are the most powerful, ruthless, and depraved criminal organizations in the world. They care only about making money. People are a commodity when they move them across the border, and they couldn’t care less about overdose deaths in Texas.”
WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Emphasizes Need For Federal Solutions To Border Crisis
DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez spoke with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto about how transnational felony organizations are taking benefit of President Biden’s failure to safe the border and implement long-term options to mass migration. Lt. Olivarez says DPS continues to take care of a document inflow of unlawful immigrants and human smuggling at the border as the Biden Administration fails to behave.
“Criminals have been able to smuggle people since last year, and they feel they can now operate with no consequences,” mentioned Lt. Olivarez. “If they come across our men and women of DPS, we will arrest them. There will be consequences for those individuals violating state law. But the fact that the federal government has allowed an open border policy, the criminal organizations exploit that. It’s a multibillion-dollar trade, and they’re not going to lose their profits.”
Texas National Guard Apprehends Over 103,000 Illegal Immigrants At Border
Texas National Guard troopers have apprehended or encountered greater than 103,000 would-be unlawful immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley alone since the launch of Operation Lone Star via mid-October 2022, in line with Texas Military Department Task Force East information. While some folks making an attempt to illegally cross the Texas-Mexico border are looking for a greater life, criminals, drug smugglers, and human traffickers use those self same routes. Because of Operation Lone Star, these felony parts at the moment are detected and apprehended at the border.
“Every day we come into work and notice that a lot of Border Patrol sections are understaffed, so I feel that having our presence here definitely helps,” mentioned Staff Sgt. Joel Martinez, Alpha Company, third Battalion, 141st Infantry. “We go into a local gas station, and the locals are always thanking us for doing what we do here.”
WATCH: Fox News Embeds With DPS, Immediately Encounters Illegal Immigrants
Fox News correspondent Joy Addison rode together with DPS troopers close to McAllen, and simply minutes into the early morning patrol they encountered a bunch of unlawful immigrants who had not too long ago crossed a harmful part of the Rio Grande River. A couple of minutes later, a second group was seen and apprehended. The Hidalgo County Sheriff advised Fox News his workplace not too long ago rescued 84 unlawful immigrants from a tractor trailer transporting them to a stash home.
“The number of deaths that have taken place and immigrants who have lost their life because of this current border crisis is a record we’ve never seen before,” mentioned DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez. “It’s hard to actually put a number on how many illegal immigrants have come across because there are so many. There are also those individuals that come across and don’t set off any cameras.”
WATCH: DPS Troopers Discover Illegal Immigrants Hiding In Horse Trailer
DPS troopers stopped a truck towing a home made horse trailer in Kinney County. As a trooper was approaching the car, he seen a number of people hid inside the trailer. The driver was arrested and charged with human smuggling. Six unlawful immigrants had been referred to Border Patrol.
WATCH: Texas National Guard Soldier Recounts Recent Illegal Border Activity
A Texas National Guard soldier stationed close to Laredo described the latest criminal activity he detected at the border, together with an encounter with 9 unlawful immigrants trespassing on a personal ranch. Using belongings to trace the group via the brush, troopers and Border Patrol brokers had been capable of apprehend the unlawful immigrants.
“Oftentimes, we’ll get a group that will disperse in areas like this,” mentioned 2nd Lt. Joshua Helton, Alpha Company Platoon Leader, Task Force Center. “Every night is different. Usually during the weekdays, we’ll get multiple groups, and we have to be smart and maneuver from one point to the other and maneuver our assets as well to make sure we get in position for other groups.”
WATCH: DPS Stops Driver Smuggling Illegal Immigrants With Her Children In Car
DPS troopers stopped a car for a visitors violation in Brooks County. During the roadside interview, the trooper discovered the driver had her kids—a 14-year-old and a 10-month-old child—as she was making an attempt to smuggle three unlawful immigrants from Mission to San Antonio. The driver was arrested for human smuggling, and the three unlawful immigrants had been referred to Border Patrol.
WATCH: DPS Finds Five Illegal Immigrants During Traffic Stop In Webb County
DPS troopers stopped a car for a visitors violation in Webb County when 5 unlawful immigrants bailed out of the car. They had been later apprehended, and the driver was arrested and charged with human smuggling.
DPS Troopers Uncover 11 Illegal Immigrants Inside Tractor Trailer In Laredo
As half of Operation Lone Star, final Saturday evening, DPS Criminal Investigations Special Agents responded to a potential human smuggling try in Laredo. After additional investigation, DPS brokers found 11 unlawful immigrants, together with eight males and three females from Guatemala.
All unlawful immigrants had been referred to Border Patrol. The truck tractor and the trailer had been impounded as a result of of a lacking car identification quantity. The investigation continues to be underneath method.
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