Gov Abbott: Border response boosted with new marine barriers

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott is confirming the placement of new floating marine barriers now in place in Eagle Pass.

Installation of the new barriers started this week, and the hope is that they will further deter illegal boarder crossings into Texas.

“In addition to [razor wire], we now have buoys in the water to prevent people from even crossing the middle part of the Rio Grande River and coming into the state of Texas,” said Governor Abbott. “Because Texas has done such a prolific job of stopping people from coming into our state, you are seeing a massive increase in the number of people crossing into New Mexico, Arizona, and California.”

The marine barriers are the latest strategy now employed by Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort working to stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas. Comprised of the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety, Operation Lone Star is also focused on preventing, detecting, and interdicting transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 390,500 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 30,800 criminal arrests, with more than 28,700 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, Texas law enforcement has seized over 421 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.

Texas has also bused:

• Over 10,400 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022
• Over 9,700 migrants to New York City since August 5
• Over 3,700 migrants to Chicago since August 31
• Over 1,800 migrants to Philadelphia since November 15
• Over 250 migrants to Denver since May 18
• Over 110 migrants to Los Angeles since June 14