Gov. Abbott: Texas Using Drone Technology Along Border

Add drone technology to the methods Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has used under Operation Lone Star in his fight to halt the flood of illegal immigrants who have crossed into his state from Mexico.

Abbott's office said in a news release Friday that an Operation Lone Star drone operator recently spotted two drug smugglers crossing into the U.S. with large plastic-wrapped packages.

When Texas National Guard soldiers responded, both suspects fled in a nearby vehicle. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers pursued the vehicle, which crashed. One suspect was arrested and the other fled back to Mexico. Law enforcement seized 24 pounds of narcotics valued at nearly $60,000.

Also, earlier this week, the Texas National Guard used drone technology to assist law enforcement officers arrest four illegal immigrants who crossed the border. All four were charged with criminal trespassing, the news release said.

"The Texas National Guard continues to work alongside state and local law enforcement partners to prevent, deter, and repel transnational criminal activity and illegal crossings along the Texas-Mexico border," the news release said.

Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 in response to a surge of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border in the first few months of the Biden administration. The DPS is authorized to "use available resources to enforce all applicable federal and state laws to prevent the criminal activity along the border, including criminal trespassing, smuggling, and human trafficking, and to assist Texas counties in their efforts to address those criminal activities."

Under Operation Lone Star, more than 511,300 illegal immigrants have been apprehended and there have been more than 42,900 criminal arrests, including more than 37,900 felony charges, the news release said. Texas law enforcement has seized more than 481 million doses of fentanyl, enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the U.S. and Mexico combined.

Texas is even building a wall along its border with Mexico, with Abbott posting Friday on X: "Concrete is being poured to strengthen Texas' border wall in Maverick County. The Texas wall will bolster border security and hold the line against President [Joe] Biden's border crisis."

Plus, Texas has transported thousands of illegal immigrants to cities that have declared themselves sanctuaries for migrants, including New York (44,500), Chicago (36,000), Denver (18,800), Washington, D.C. (12,500), Philadelphia (3,400), and Los Angeles (1,500).

Newsmax reached out to Abbott for comment.

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