Texas’s efforts to stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into the United States under Operation Lone Star have borne fruit, according to data provided by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who pledged to continue deploying “every strategy” available to respond to the border crisis.
Operation Lone Star started in March 2021 in response to a surge in illegal immigration, as a combined effort of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas National Guard. The operation deployed air, ground, marine, and tactical border security assets to high-threat areas along the border in an effort to deny Mexican cartels and others the ability to smuggle people, weapons, and drugs into the country.
