The Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott reports that Operation Lone Star — a multi-agency effort with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas National Guard — has apprehended more than 457,500 illegal immigrants and made more than 34,400 criminal arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border, since April 2022.
According to the Governor’s press release, Texas has bused:
- Over 11,900 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022
- Over 14,900 migrants to New York City since August 2022
- Over 8,700 migrants to Chicago since August 2022
- Over 3,000 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022
- Over 1,600 migrants to Denver since May 18
- Over 610 migrants to Los Angeles since June 14
On September 22, the Republican governor (a fierce critic of President Biden’s border politics) announced that he has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to deploy additional buses to Eagle Pass and El Paso.
Texas deployed additional buses to Eagle Pass and El Paso to help provide relief from Biden's border crisis.#OperationLoneStar continues to hold the line to stem the historic influx of illegal immigration.https://t.co/fNwAUknM5i
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 24, 2023
In August, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Governor Abbott sent a bus full of migrants to L.A. while the city was under “an unprecedented tropical storm warning,” which she called “a despicable act beyond politics.”
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to bus migrants to the Colorado city (and without notice) was “a very insensitive, disingenuous act.”
Note: All six of the cities Abbott has chosen to bus migrants to are led by Democratic mayors including New York City mayor Eric Adams who called Abbott “a mad man” and said the influx of migrants will “destroy New York City.” Adams says the city is currently supporting 110,000 migrants who have arrived since April 2022.
Abbott refers to Operation Lone Star as a “success” and vows that “Texas will continue to deploy as many buses as needed to relieve the strain caused by the surge of illegal crossings.”
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