Operation Lone Star

The historic pace of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has fueled Republicans’ focus on the crisis, but despite the efforts of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, encounters in Texas have increased. Full Story 

A governor’s military powers are often not discussed as part of the election process, in favor of other prominent issues like education and taxes. But with Operation Lone Star in plain view, voters may have more questions this election. Full Story 

Officials in the Texas border county are pushing Gov. Greg Abbott to take ever more extreme action against migrants and asylum-seekers. Full Story 

On Thursday, officials with the Texas Military Department acknowledged that the payroll system they used for the mission has withheld too little in federal taxes from service members’ paychecks. Full Story 

Abbott previously said Eric Adams’ office had not reached out to him about coordinating migrant arrivals in New York City and faced criticism that he was rebuffing efforts from the mayor to communicate. Full Story 

The soldier is the 10th known Texas Guard member linked to the mission to die since its rapid expansion began in September 2021. Full Story 

The number of migrant encounters at the Texas-Mexico border has climbed from 109,456 in March 2021, the month the mission began, to 116,976 in August — a failure of Abbott’s office’s stated desire to “stop this revolving door and deter others considering entering illegally.” Full Story 

Abbott directed the Department of Public Safety to boost efforts to collect intelligence on cartels and investigate gangs in Texas that support drug and human smuggling. Full Story 

Abbott said there’s over 5,000 guard members still assigned to the border. He initially said he had deployed 10,000. Full Story 

Allen Amos, a visiting judge handling trespassing cases under Gov. Greg Abbott’s “catch-and-jail” border operation, allegedly used the derogatory term in a recent conversation with a defense attorney. Full Story 

Some experts say the actions create little change in immigration enforcement. Others say they invite a legal battle. Full Story 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey are sending migrants to the nation’s capital to prove a point about President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. Full Story 

Two civil rights groups have expanded their request for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Operation Lone Star, citing evidence of risky pursuits and more frequent traffic stops of Hispanic drivers. Full Story 

Immigration law enforcement is a federal responsibility. Abbott appears to be testing the limits of state authority by empowering state law enforcement to bring migrants to the ports of entry — stopping short of using state resources to expel migrants from the country. Full Story 

Abbott announced that his already $4 billion border mission would provide grant funding for cities and counties, following a press conference by some local officials calling on the governor to take more drastic action to secure the border. Full Story 

Texas has been using coronavirus relief money to help pay for the multibillion-dollar deployment. Full Story 

The trial included four prosecutors, and so many potential jurors were summoned the town sandwich shop was shorthanded for lunch. But a Kinney County jury Monday convicted a Honduran national in the first jury trial for trespassing under Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. Full Story 

State officials freed up cash for Operation Lone Star with the help of federal funds meant to respond to the coronavirus crisis. Full Story 

Critics have said that a lack of guidance and equipment to perform life-saving rescues leaves soldiers dangerously unprepared to deal with a common scenario on the border while dehumanizing the migrants attempting to cross the river. Full Story 

Abbott said the money would be taken from the budgets of other Texas agencies, including nearly $210 million from the state’s Health and Human Services Commission over two years and about $160 million from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Full Story