Hundreds travel to Austin to call on Abbott to end Operation Lone Star

AUSTIN, Texas - Hundreds traveled to the State Capitol Saturday morning to ask Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to put an end to Operation Lone Star.

"We drove 312 miles from the RGV from the Valley to be here today. We've been on the road since 3:45 and we just arrived and yes, we are tired," says one of the presenters at the End Operation Lone Star Rally.

"We believe that in this case the governor of Texas, Governor Abbott is pushing a political agenda by enforcing immigration laws in our southern border," says Fernando Garcia with the Border Network of Human Rights of El Paso.

Abbott, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border. Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, there have been over 350,000 border apprehensions and more than 25,000 criminal arrests.

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"And they have seized enough fentanyl to kill every man and women, child in the entire United States of America," Abbott previously stated at the State of the State address in February.

Those gathered at the capitol Saturday morning say Operation Lone Star has been ripping families apart at the border.

"I think what he's doing is illegal on the border, he's spending more than $5 billion already in operations. That's our taxpayer money. That is not a mandate, and I think he needs to stop it," says Garcia.

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The Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance also known as 'RITA' came to advocate for basic Texan needs.

"We believe that all contributors of taxes deserve the same rights we need to have a permit to drive to access the hospitals to supermarkets the schools and we believe it's a right for everyone," says Lupita Sanchez, one of the speakers at the End Operation Lone Star Rally

Rally goers held signs saying united for the same cause, to keep their families safe.

"Kids advocate for the same things at school there are here because they believe they have the same struggles with the same issues," says Sanchez.