Gov. Greg Abbott Calls Out Feds for Border Failure

With the Governer in Del Rio was Colonel Steven McCraw of the Texas Department of Public Safety to speak on his experience with Operation Lonestar, a joint initiative between the DPS and the Texas National Guard enacted by the Governor in March of this year. The operation represent the first major step taken by the Governor to take border control matters into the hands of the state in response to “Biden Administration policies that refuse to secure the border and invite illegal immigration,” per the March 1st press release which announced the new program. The operation “deploys air, ground, marine, and tactical border security assets to high threat areas to deny Mexican Cartels and other smugglers the ability to move drugs and people into Texas.” More than two months into the operation Col. McCraw shared his findings: the Mexican cartels are cementing their position along smuggling routes he says, they are recruiting American kids with promises of wealth via social media to be lookouts for police and aid in slowing down their pursuit.

McCraw shared footage of these type of posts from Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook and showed the audience what these recruits are doing to aid smuggling along the border in a dash cam footage from a DPS pursuit last week. The children, hiding behind trees and bushes, spring into action throwing lumber and metal along the road in front of the pursuing officers after the smugglers pass. Meanwhile more are hidden up the road closing and locking gates before the DPS can pass through forcing the officers out of their cars to remove the obstructions before continuing.

The smuggling vehicle, now out of sight, moves to make their “drop” of drugs before driving the car directly onto a homemade raft and floating back across the Rio Grande leaving the DPS with no recourse.

The Colonel also showed images of drug and weapon seizures the group of roughly 1,000 DPS agents dispatched by Operation Lonestar have made, these include machine guns, 50 caliber rifles, and enough of the opioid Fentynal to kill millions of Americans. Col. McCraw is happy Operation Lonestar has been able to make a difference but as Governor Abbott interjects “long term only Congress can secure our border, in the meantime we do what we can.”

The Governor announced major steps he will be taking to get the crisis under control moving forward. First, new and intense focus on arresting illegals and prosecuting them on state crimes such as trespassing, endangerment, smuggling, and theft to the fullest extent of the law. Abbott wants to de-incentivise border crossings by long stays in state jails rather than immediate deportation.

Second, the Governor announces he will be dedicating one billion dollars in state funds to the border in the new budget which he plans to finalize and sign in the coming days.

Third, Abbott is forming the Governor’s Task Force on Border and Homeland Security with will include representatives from several pertinent state agencies, including DPS, the Division of Emergency Management, and the Texas Military Department, to “ramp up coordination from state government and local communities. The task force will be meeting bi-weekly to discuss developments along the border and coordinate their response.

Fourth, the Governor announced he is committed to building a border wall across Texas with or without the Federal Government. He says the plan is currently being developed and he will announce said plan next week.

Fifth, the Governor declared that the State of Texas and the State of Arizona will invoke the Emergency Management Assistance Compact in which Governor Abbot and Arizona Governor Ducey request law enforcement officials and resources to assist in making arrests and jailing.

And Finally, expressing sympathy and concern for all those living along the border who have suffered damage to their property as a result of the surge in illegal immigration, the Governor has created resources in with which these people can upload images of their losses and the state will fight for compensation from the federal government on their behalf. 

Governor Abbott showcased renewed resolve in fighting the border crisis with his long list of initiatives. He made clear that Texas can no longer wait on the Federal Administration to solve these problem and so decisive action must be taken at the state level. The Governor is willing to dedicate massive resources and personnel to the border while also taking steps to construct a wall barrier to aid with such issues moving forward. “A change is needed” was repeated by the Governor many times during the summit with banging fists. “This is an unprecedented crisis, and Texas is responding with the most robust and comprehensive border plan the nation has ever seen.” 

Check out reactions from the audience after the event here