Operation Lone Star: Abbott releases latest statistics on border security operation
AUSTIN, Texas - On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott's office released the latest statistics on Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort tasked with enhancing security at the Mexican border.
According to the new stats, the operation has led to over 390,000 apprehensions and more than 30,000 criminal arrests, with more than 28,000 felony charges reported.
"We have razor wire prohibiting people from entering Texas in the first place, and right behind that razor wire is national guard soldiers," Gov. Abbott said in a FOX interview.
BORDER SECURITY COVERAGE
- Texas DPS releases numbers on Operation Lone Star's impact at the border
- Texas to use mobile, floating border wall in effort to prevent illegal crossings
- Texas House, Senate remain at impasse on property tax relief, border security
Texas National Guard soldiers initially noticed a slight decrease in criminal activity along the border near Laredo. However, cartels have recently begun to increase operations once again.
"I'm out here on the line just working with border patrol, just trying to stop the inflow of illegal immigrants, occasionally some narcotic stuff," said Specialist Jonathan Sarver, a rifleman for Alpha Company, Task Force Center.
The installation of a floating barrier wall in the Rio Grande is expected to be complete by the end of this week.
The buoys are 4 feet in diameter and one foot underwater, making it difficult for someone to go under or over it.
"Prevent drownings. During the Fourth of July holiday, we as a state recovered four bodies, including an infant child, from drowning. The river is very dangerous, the water is very high," said Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez in a FOX interview.
Texas: The Issue Is – Reorganizing Operation Lone Star
Could a reorganization of Gov. Greg Abbott's border mission Operation Lone Star be on the table this legislative session? FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski, FOX 4 Dallas's Steven Dial and FOX 26 Houston's Greg Groogan sit down to analyze Koski's interview with State Rep. Matt Schaefer about HB 20.
Many people, including Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, have criticized Gov. Abbott's so-called attempt at securing the border by bussing migrants off to Democratic-led cities.
The Los Angeles mayor previously released the following statement, that says in part: "It is abhorrent for an elected official to use human beings as a pawn in a political game."
When Bass took office, she said the city was prepared for this kind of event, and advocates agreed.
"We’ve felt that criticism, and even now with this. It's not going to stop what we are doing," said Lt. Olivarez. "We have to secure the border. The federal government has not done anything for the last two years,"