Texas Sees 74 Percent Drop in Illegal Border Crossings Since Operation Lone Star, Gov. Office Says

Migrants await to enter and seek asylum in El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, in Mexico, on April 2, 2024. Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images

Texas officials have reported a significant drop in illegal border crossings since Gov. Gregg Abbott implemented his state-level border security mission.

According to a statement released by Mr. Abbott’s office on June 14, the initiative has resulted in a 74 percent decrease in immigrants crossing into the state illegally in Texas since Operation Lone Star was launched in March 2021.

As part of the initiative, the Republican governor has deployed floating border barriers, installed wire fencing, and used the Texas National Guard to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.

Since the program was launched, the multi-agency effort has led to nearly 514,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 44,000 criminal arrests, with more than 38,600 felony charges, the statement said.

His office also emphasizes that law enforcement officials have seized over 489 million lethal doses of the synthetic opioid fentanyl during this period, noting the quantity seized is enough to “kill every man, woman, and child in the United States and Mexico combined.”

Mr. Abbott argued that were it not for the state’s border security program, the apprehended or arrested individuals—along with “every ounce of drugs” seized—could have scattered into communities across the Lone Star State and other U.S. states.

The Republican governor, meanwhile, criticized the Biden administration for its poor handling of the border situation, saying the new border executive order President Joe Biden signed earlier this month “will do little to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the country.”

“As long as the Biden Administration refuses to provide any type of enforcement, any type of blockage, of people crossing illegally, all that this new Biden policy is going to do is to actually attract and invite even more people to cross the border illegally,” he said in the statement, citing his appearance on Fox News.

Mr. Abbott referred to President Biden’s new executive order suspending asylum requests at certain times to deter illegal border crossings.

According to a White House fact sheet published on June 4, the proclamation bars illegal immigrants from receiving asylum when border officials deem illegal border crossings are at “high levels,” which it said “is the case today.”

“This ban will remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level that our system can effectively manage,” President Biden said at a news conference from the White House announcing the measure.

The proclamation will kick in once the average number of encounters with illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico exceeds 2,500 a day over seven days.

President Biden’s executive action comes as his administration has been dealing with a historic increase in illegal immigrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the total number of border encounters in the first five months of fiscal year 2024 was more than 1.15 million, up by almost 12 percent from the 1.03 million in the same period in fiscal 2023.

From NTD News