Governor Abbott Declares Success for ‘Operation Lone Star’ in Texas

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott shared on social media U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics indicating that Operation Lone Star is effectively reducing illegal migrant crossings into Texas.

Abbott initiated Operation Lone Star in 2021 to address the migrant crisis at the southern border and hinder Mexican cartels and other smugglers from trafficking drugs and people into Texas. The operation is a collaboration between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department.

The governor recently posted a Media Research Center article referencing CBP data which shows a 28% decrease in illegal migrant encounters in Texas during the first five months (October to February) of the 2024 fiscal year, while states like California and Arizona experienced increases of 35% and 52%, respectively.

“Operation Lone Star is proving to be successful. Look at the data in this article,” Abbott tweeted, along with the MRCTV story.

“Illegal crossings are decreasing in TX while increasing in CA & AZ.

“This is due to the border wall, razor wire barriers, presence of the National Guard, and arrests by DPS.”

CBP data indicated declines in all five of Texas’ border control regions between October and February, with the largest decreases seen at Big Bend (65%) and El Paso (47%), as reported by Newsweek.

Moreover, Texas regions Laredo (38%), Rio Grande Valley (23%), and Del Rio (6%) also reported decreases in migrant encounters, while Arizona’s Tucson region saw a 167% increase and California’s San Diego region recorded a 76% increase.

Arizona Republican Kari Lake remarked to Newsweek in January, “Because Greg Abbott is now working to secure the border in Texas, we’re seeing an influx of people pouring across our border even more so than we had in previous months. The Tucson sector is being overrun with people from 168 different countries.”

Abbott’s social media update came a day before a U.S. appeals court maintained a hold on a Texas law that would allow state authorities to arrest and prosecute individuals suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Biden administration has argued that the statute encroaches on federal government authority.

In January, the Supreme Court ruled that federal agents could remove razor wire installations along the southern border.