A Texas police chief said Monday that his city is facing huge human smuggling operations and without the help of Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star initiative to deal with illegal migration, his city would be overrun.
As of March 4, 2022, state troopers and National Guard members serving under Operation Lone Star have arrested 208,000 migrants and filed more than 11,800 criminal charges, including roughly 9,300 felony charges, The Texas Tribune reported.
Dilley, Texas, Police Chief Homer Delgado told the "Fox & Friends" program, "I don't think I can actually fathom what the impact would be looking at what we have today [without Title 42]. If it were to double, we would just be inundated with more people than we could handle coming through here."
Title 42 allows the government to deport illegal migrants because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Judge Robert Summerhays, in the Western District of Louisiana, granted a preliminary injunction on the Biden administration's plan to end Title 42 on Monday. It was in response to a lawsuit by two dozen Republican states, led by Arizona, Louisiana, and Missouri, FoxNews.com reported.
The police chief said his small city of about 4,000 people has received assistance from the Frio County sheriffs' office, Texas Highway Patrol, and Operation Lone Star which was created by Gov. Abbott. Delgado said he and other south Texas officials feel "abandoned" as they deal with the border crisis.
U.S. Border Patrol agents are encountering near-record numbers of people who either crossed on their own or were allowed to enter under various Title 42 exemptions, The New York Times reported. A total of 234,088 migrants crossed the southern border in April.
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