Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to 306,400 migrant apprehensions and more than 20,100 criminal arrests, with more than 17,600 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 336.3 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.
Texas has also bused over 8,100 migrants to our nation’s capital since April, over 2,700 migrants to New York City since August 5, and more than 770 migrants to Chicago since August 31. The busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities.
Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border. 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.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:
Governor Abbott Designates Mexican Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Governor Abbott on Wednesday issued an executive order designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations and instructing DPS to take immediate action to keep Texans safe amid the growing national fentanyl crisis. The executive order directs DPS and law enforcement agencies to identify Texas gangs that support Mexican drug cartels and seize their assets in order to disrupt cartel networks operating in Texas communities, as thousands of Texans have been poisoned unwittingly by counterfeit pills laced with the deadly synthetic opioid.
The Governor also sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris requesting federal terrorist classifications for the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, as well as other cartels producing and distributing deadly fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is a clandestine killer, and Texans are falling victim to the Mexican cartels that are producing it,” said Governor Abbott. “Cartels are terrorists, and it’s time we treated them that way. In order to save our country, particularly our next generation, we must do more to get fentanyl off our streets.”
Read more on Governor Abbott’s executive order and letter.
Governor Abbott Directs State Agencies To Ramp Up Anti-Fentanyl Efforts
With an 89% increase in fentanyl-related deaths reported in Texas in 2021 compared to 2020, Governor Abbott this week sent a letter to state agency leaders directing them to ramp up state efforts to combat the deadly fentanyl crisis impacting communities across Texas and the nation.
“Fentanyl’s potency and deceptiveness, combined with the federal government’s unwillingness to take border security seriously, pose a grave threat to Texans,” reads Governor Abbott’s letter. “We must take all appropriate actions to inform Texans of this danger and prevent additional deaths.”
Ahead of the next legislative session, the Governor ordered state agencies to outline statutory changes, budget priorities, and other initiatives that will enhance the state’s ability to interdict the synthetic opioid, provide emergency overdose treatment, and expand substance abuse treatment programs. State agencies were also directed to begin coordinating efforts to raise awareness of fentanyl’s lethality and prevalence.
