Texas' Operation Lone Star has led to the apprehensions of more than 350,000 illegal immigrants, and the seizure of more than 362 million lethal doses of fentanyl, Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press release Friday.
The multi-agency effort to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, launched in March 2021 due to "insufficient policies from the federal government," includes resources from the Department of Public Safety and the National Guard.
The release issued by Abbott's office also said Texas has bused more than 9,100 migrants to Washington, D.C., since April, more than 5,200 migrants to New York City since Aug. 5, more than 1,500 migrants to Chicago since Aug. 31, and more than 890 migrants to Philadelphia since Nov. 15.
"Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden administration's refusal to secure the border," Abbott's office said.
"Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden's open border policies."
Abbott in December expanded Operation Lone Star in an effort to further secure the state's southern border.
"Until Congress acts or the Biden administration does its constitutionally required job, Texas Guardsmen and Troopers must bear the burden of securing the border," he said in a letter at the time to Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw and Texas Military Department Adjutant General Thomas Suelzer.
He also directed both leaders "to defend Texas against what amounts to an invasion of America's southern border."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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