Operation Lone Star marks one year amid controversy, allegations

AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star is marking its one-year anniversary.

Officially launched on March 4, 2021, the operation integrates Texas DPS assets, including Texas Highway Patrol Troopers, Special Agents, Texas Rangers, Rotary and Fixed Winged Aircraft and Tactical Boat Teams, along with the Texas National Guard and local law enforcement to secure the border, says Abbott's office.

FOX 7 Discussion: Texas National Guard troops call Abbott’s rushed border operation a disaster

James Barragan with the "Texas Tribune" joins FOX 7's Rebecca Thomas to discuss his recently published article that described though conditions for Texas soldiers at the border.

What has Operation Lone Star accomplished?

Abbott's office says that these efforts have led to more than 208,000 migrant apprehensions, along with more than 11,800 charges for criminal offenses—including more than 9,300 felony charges.

DPS has also reportedly arrested sex offenders, weapons traffickers, previously convicted and deported criminal immigrants, drug dealers, and other wanted criminals. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 269 million lethal doses throughout the state, says Abbott's office.

Since its inception, Abbott says he has taken additional actions in relation to the operation:

March 17, 2021: Expanded OLS to include efforts to crack down on human trafficking and illegal border crossings by directing state agencies to work with local law enforcement, communities and private landowners to prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity flowing between the ports of entry
May 31, 2021: Issued a disaster declaration for counties along Texas’ southern border to free up additional resources and to direct the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) not to provide state licensing for the federal government’s program of housing unaccompanied children
June 10, 2021: Held a Border Security Summit in Del Rio with leaders from DPS, the Texas National Guard, and the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Texas sheriffs, police chiefs, county judges, mayors, district attorneys, and landowners to hear from state officials
June 2021: Announced DPS would begin arresting individuals trespassing on private property as well as plans to construct a border wall in Texas
July 2021: Opened the first jail booking facility of its kind in the state in Val Verde County where individuals arrested for committing border-related crimes in the surrounding region are booked and magistrated, then transferred to the Briscoe or Segovia TDCJ Unit
July 28, 2021: Issued an executive order restricting the ground transportation of migrants due to COVID-19.
September 2021: Announced availability of $100 million in grants for local governments to enhance interagency border security operations supporting OLS and signed House Bill 9 into law to provide an additional $1.8 billion in state funding for border security over the next two years
February 2022: Launched a second jail booking facility in Jim Hogg County

Additional actions taken by Abbott to secure the border include:

Signing a law to make it easier to prosecute smugglers bringing people into Texas
Signing 15 laws cracking down on human trafficking in Texas
Signing a law enhancing penalties for the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl
Taking legal action to enforce the Remain in Mexico and Title 42 policies in Texas

Travis County Judge rules part of Gov. Abbott's border crackdown violates US Constitution

An arrest made under Gov. Abbott's Operation Lone Star was dismissed by a Travis County Judge due to the operation revealing constitutional violations.

Allegations concerning constitutionality and working conditions

Operation Lone Star has also raised concerns about its constitutionality and working conditions for members of the Texas Army National Guard following several reported suicides.

In January, a Travis County judge ruled that part of Operation Lone Star was unconstitutional as it "violated the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and represents an impermissible attempt to intrude on federal immigration policy," said Travis County DA José Garza at the time.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has vowed to fight the ruling saying "We have the right to defend our border if the feds refuse."

The Army Times raised questions in December about the operation, especially conditions for members of the Texas Army National Guard following four suicides. Later the Texas Tribune reported that another soldier had shot and killed himself in an alcohol-related accident, just days after another soldier assigned to the mission survived a suicide attempt between Christmas and New Year's Day.

State Rep. Alex Dominguez (D-Brownsville) stated in an op-ed in the Army Times that he has submitted formal letters to the governor, House General Investigations chairman State Rep. Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) and the Texas Military Department asking for investigations into the suicides, recommendations on how to legislatively resolve the administrative failures of the operation, and a moratorium on additional deployments until such investigations conclude and recommendations are made.

FOX 7 Discussion: Abbott claims Biden has 'abandoned Texas'

Jamarr Brown, the co-executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, and James Dickey, the former Texas GOP chairman, join Mike Warren to talk about what Abbott said on FOX News.

According to the Texas Tribune, troops at the border say they have faced a deluge of problems when they were mobilized — some of which have been slowly improving in recent weeks:

As many as 1 in 5 troops in the 6,500-strong "operational force" who have been sent to the border have reported problems with their pay, including being paid late, too little or not at all for months
Service members say they have struggled with shortages of critical equipment, including cold weather gear, medical equipment and plates for their ballistic vests
Many are living in cramped trailers with dozens of troops
Some say they feel underutilized and rarely see migrants while working isolated observation posts that in some cases lacked portable toilets for months

The Texas Military Department posted a release in January refuting some of these claims to "set the record straight to ensure accurate reporting on this mission".

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MORE HEADLINES:
Texas woman allegedly busted at US-Mexico border with 44 rifles, disassembled machine gun in trampoline box
FOX 7 Discussion: Abbott's border operation being called a 'disaster'
Governor Abbott adds $38.4M in funding for Operation Lone Star
Operation Lone Star initiatives to receive $36.4M in grant funding
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to build a border wall, but does Texas have the ability — or money — to do so?
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