Gov Abbott wants minimum five-year prison sentence for human smugglers

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott wants to increase the penalty for human smuggling from a minimum two years to at least five years in prison for those convicted.

KSAT-TV reports Governor Abbott made that declaration over the weekend in a Tweet.

In November, Governor Abbott declared an invasion at the southern border as record numbers of illegal immigrants flood into the United States.

But Governor Abbott started making moves to stop illegal immigration and human smuggling in Texas in March 2021 with the creation of Operation Lone Star, a joint effort between the Texas  Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas National Guard. The effort aims to stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 333,000 migrant apprehensions and more than 22,000 criminal arrests, with more than 20,000 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 354 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.

Texas has also bused more than 8,500 migrants to our nation’s capital since April, over 4,000 migrants to New York City since August 5, more than 1,300 migrants to Chicago since August 31, and more than 260 migrants to Philadelphia since November 15.