A crackdown on illegal immigration in the Red State has resulted in nearly 50,000 arrests of criminals
According to Texas Republican Governor Greg AbbottState efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and the activities of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) migrant gangs have reduced illegal crossings by nearly 90% and resulted in nearly 50,000 criminal arrests.
Abbott’s office said the Texas-led campaign made the call “Operation Lonestar”, first launched in March 2021 and involving more than a dozen other Republican states, it resulted in 530,400 arrests of illegal immigrants and over 49,900 criminal arrests, with more than 42,900 felony charges.
During this operation, Texas also became the first state to build its own border wall, continuing to build a border wall at strategic points despite President Biden stopping it in the early days of his administration.
US BORDER PATROL ALLEGEDLY CAPTURED RUSSIAN MERCENARY CARRYING A DRONE, 2 PASSPORTS AND $4K
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised his state’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration while criticizing the Biden administration for its border policies. (Getty/Office of Governor Greg Abbott)
“Our top priority is the safety and security of Texans, including the growing threat of Tren de Aragua,” Abbott said on X. “We will not allow this gang to operate or gain a foothold in Texas.”
The governor’s office also said that during Operation Lonestar, Texas police seized over 620 million lethal doses of fentanylwhich they said was “enough to kill every man, woman and child in the United States, Mexico and Canada combined.”
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The office noted that Abbott designated TdA, whose violent crime has been rampaging across the nation, a foreign terrorist organization and has launched a strike team to target, identify and arrest members of the group.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested four members of TdA crossing the border on New Year’s Eve, one of whom was identified as a possible high-ranking gang member.
TREN DE ARAGUA IS BELIEVED BEHIND MURDER OF IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL NEAR BORDER
Tren de Aragua members arrested in Texas. (Fox News)
The statement also said Texas transported a total of 119,400 migrants to Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles, all of which asylum policies for migrants in place.
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Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesman for Abbott, told Fox News Digital that Operation Lone Star cost Texas more than $11 billion, all of which was spent on securing the border, including deploying thousands of Texas National Guard and DPS troops, transporting migrants to sanctuary cities, setting up strategic barriers, crushing violent gangs like TdA and building a new border wall.
“Because of these efforts, Texas has reduced illegal crossings into the state by 87%,” Mahaleris said. “Texas has held the line against the Biden-Harris border crisis for the past four years, and Governor Abbott looks forward to continuing to work closely with President Trump and his incoming administration to protect our state and nation.”
