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August 5, 2022 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border, 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 more than 290,700 migrant apprehensions and more than 18,000 criminal arrests, with more than 15,400 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 325.9 million lethal doses throughout the state. Texas has also transported over 6,500 migrants to the nation's capital--and now New York City--since beginning the busing mission in April to provide much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities.

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden's open border policies.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:

Governor Abbott Announces First Bus Of Migrants Arrives In New York City

Governor Abbott today announced the arrival of the first group of migrants bused to New York City from Texas. New York City will now be a drop-off location with Washington, D.C. for the busing strategy as part of the Governor's response to the Biden Administration's open border policies that are overwhelming Texas communities.

"In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city, said Governor Abbott. I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief."

Read the Governor's announcement.

Governor Abbott Invites Mayors of NYC, D.C. To Texas Border

On Monday, Governor Abbott sent a letter to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, inviting the mayors to visit Texas southern border to see the humanitarian crisis firsthand. With President Bidens open border policies continuing to invite record-high numbers of illegal immigrants and transnational criminal activity into Texas communities, the Governors migrant busing mission has provided much-needed relief to overwhelmed local communities along the border.

"As Governor, I invite you to visit our border region to see firsthand the dire situation that only grows more urgent with each passing day, and to meet with the local officials, who like yourselves, realize this matter deserves immediate federal action, reads the letter.

Read the full letter.

WATCH: Governor Abbott Discusses Democrat Mayors Reaction To Texas' Busing Strategy

In an interview with Fox News Sean Hannity, Governor Abbott pointed out the hypocrisy of the New York City and Washington, D.C. mayors, who were unconcerned about the influx of illegal immigrants when it only affected southern border states like Texas. With buses of migrants arriving in her city, D.C. Mayor Bowser last week requested assistance from the National Guard in managing newly arrived migrants into her city.

As soon as they have to deal with the real consequences of the crisis, they are up in arms calling for the National Guard when they are only dealing with a faction of what we have to deal with every single day, Governor Abbott said. Were going to keep sending those buses up there until they fully understand, and most importantly, until the Biden Administration does its job to enforce the laws concerning the border."

WATCH: Governor Abbott Stresses Need For Federal Response To Border Crisis

This week, Governor Abbott joined Maria Bartiromo for Fox Nations Broken Border Crisis Summit to discuss how President Bidens open border policies have led to chaos at the southern border. With the Biden Administration undoing President Trumps major border security initiatives, Texas is left responding to the crisis by busing migrants to the nations capital--and New York City. The Governor notes that more than 6,000 people have been bused to Washington, D.C. since the April launch of the mission, but thousands more illegally cross the border each day.

If we could educate more leaders across this country about the chaos caused by the Biden Administration, that would compel the Administration to step up and do its job under the Constitution and enforce the immigration laws that have been passed by Congress, said Governor Abbott.

WATCH: Governor Abbott Rebukes D.C., NYC Mayors' Claims Illegal Immigration Is Texas' Problem

Governor Abbott discussed with Fox News host Jesse Watters the ongoing border crisis and how it affects national security for the entire nation, not just Texas and other southern border states. Following New York City Mayor Adams' claims that Texas bears responsibility for the thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day, the Governor invited Mayor Adams and D.C. Mayor Bowser to visit the southern border and see firsthand the magnitude of the chaos created by President Biden's open border policies.

"They're up in arms about a few thousand people coming into their communities over the past few months. In any one sector in the State of Texas, we have more than 5,000 people coming into that sector every single day," said Governor Abbott. "Our communities are overrun."

WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Gives Fox Nation Tour Of DPS Drug Warehouse, Describes Coordinated Smuggling Effort

DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez participated in Maria Bartiromos Broken Border Crisis Summit and gave a tour of the DPS drug warehouse in McAllen, where bundles of illegal drugs seized by Operation Lone Star are processed by DPS personnel. With dangerous cartels running multibillion-dollar smuggling businesses, Lt. Olivarez explains that once the bundles of packaged drugs are carried across the border they are broken up at stash houses and smuggled further into the country.

What were seeing thats unique from previous years is luring younger, juvenile Americans into criminal activity like human smuggling and drug smuggling because its being advertised through social media platforms, said Lt. Olivarez. Theres a lower prosecution risk for these juveniles, so theyre exploiting that."

Texas National Guard Employ Advanced Assets To Stop Illegal Activities Along Border

The Texas National Guard use an array of assets to prevent, deter, and interdict transnational criminal activity in Texas border region, including advanced optic systems for detecting illegal crossings. The Tactical Response Units (TRU) employ boats to patrol the Rio Grande and respond to criminal activity and illegal crossings. The boat assets are used on water and land, while TRU soldiers communicate with multiple law enforcement agencies. Through tracking tools and radios, the cross-agency communications is crucial to the mission.

We call in our teams and law enforcement to see if they have any suspected traffic coming across and then move up or down river to try to meet the rafts and people, a member of the TRU boat crew explained.

WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Shares Update On Border Crisis As Bused Migrants Continue To Arrive In D.C.

DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez told Fox News that the communities along the border are completely overwhelmed with the relentless surge of illegal immigrants. He explained how Governor Abbott listened to the concerns of local officials with the migrant busing mission.

I think its a great idea what Governor Abbott has done with inviting these mayors to Texas to see firsthand what were dealing with every day, said Lt. Olivarez. Some of these border communities have a population or 15,000 or 20,000 and theyre seeing 2,000 to 3,000 immigrants who are crossing every single day."

VIDEO: Texas National Guard Soldiers Take Pride In Operation Lone Star Mission

Texas Military soldiers describe their pride in contributing to the Operation Lone Star mission by keeping Texans across the state safe from transnational criminal activity.

This mission is important, because I am out here on the frontlines. We have stopped sex offenders and gang members from coming into our borders, said Senior Airman Gabriel Figueroa. We are protecting our communities in Texas by minimizing the flow of drugs through our borders.

VIDEO: Smuggler Leads DPS Troopers On High-Speed Pursuit In Cloned Work Truck

A smuggler driving a cloned work truck led DPS troopers on a high-speed chase in the Mission area. The smuggler and several illegal immigrants eventually bailed out and ran toward a residence. With the assistance of a U.S. Customs Aircraft Division, the smuggler and seven illegal immigrants were apprehended.

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Operation Lone Star Ramps Up Busing Of Migrants To NYC, D.C. To Provide Relief To Border Communities - Office of the Texas Governor

Rome: Italy is receiving assistance from France and Germany in coping with the migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Africa, some two months after a European Union (EU) agreement on distributing migrants arriving by boat, the Interior Ministry in Rome said.

A French delegation had over recent days selected a group of migrants in the south-eastern city of Bari for resettling in France, and Germany was planning a similar mission this month, dpa news agency reported citing the Ministry as saying on Friday.

Italy, the main first destination for migrants attempting the hazardous crossing from the North African coast, has for years called for greater assistance from other EU member states, and on June 10, 21 members agreed on a solidarity mechanism to help southern European members.

To date, 13 member states have stated their willingness to absorb more than 8,000 people, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said this week.

Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese referred to an historic step for the union.

The Italian authorities have registered more than 42,000 migrants arriving by boat so far this year, well above the comparable figure for last year of around 30,000.

If a centre-right political alliance win the September 25 elections, as pre-election polling predicts, they have pledged stronger action against migrants.

Matteo Salvini, head of the right-wing League (Lega) in the grouping, said on Friday during a visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa off the Tunisian coast, that he would like to appoint a special commissioner to halt the flow of migrants.

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the extreme right-wing Fratelli dItalia (Brothers of Italy) party, which is leading in the polls, says she plans to intern migrants in camps in North Africa.

More here:
Italy receives help from France, Germany in migrant crisis - The Siasat Daily

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced a resolution Monday saying the Department of Homeland Security should commend, rather than punish, the horseback Border Patrol agents who were falsely accused of "whipping" Haitian migrants in Texas last year.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) this month said there was "no evidence" that Border Patrol struck Haitian migrants with their reins or used whips in Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 19, 2021, but the agencyrecommended punishment anyway for the agents for infractions such as "offensive" language and unnecessary force.

Cruzs resolution says Border Patrol severely lacked the resources and adequate personnel to handle the Haitian migrant crisis leading up to the Del Rio incident, and that Democrats like Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Homeland Security SecretaryAlejandro Mayorkas "rushed to judgment" when they falsely accused agents of using their horse tack to whip the migrants.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection mounted officers attempt to contain migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acua, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas, Sept. 19, 2021. (Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images)

The resolution states that the Del Rio incident was "self-inflicted" by Bidens immigration policies, which it says left the southern border "open and unsecured" and allowed a record-breaking 3,271,585 encounters between Border Patrol agents and illegal immigrants since the president took office.

CBP PROPOSES DISCIPLINE FOR TEXAS AGENTS ACCUSED OF WHIPPING HAITIAN MIGRANTS

"The real problem is not the way Border Patrol agents treat illegal aliens, but the way the Biden administration encourages immigrants to break the law while undermining the heroes who are serving our country along the U.S.-Mexico border," Cruz said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

Sen. Ted Cruz on Monday introduced a resolution saying Homeland Security should "commend, rather than punish" Border Patrol agents falsely accused of "whipping" Haitian immigrants. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

"Ive been at the border numerous times, and I am always impressed with the humanity that our Border Patrol shows to illegal aliens who have been abused or worse by the cartels who smuggle them to the border," he continued. "The Biden administration was not only complicit in the fake news narrative that developed about our mounted agents in Del Rio last year, but they actively fanned the flames. It is insulting for CBP to recommend those agents be reprimanded following an investigation that produced zero evidence of whipping. Congress must stand for the rule of law, and stand with our brave Border Patrol agents."

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Cruz's resolution says the decision to potentially discipline the four Border Patrol agents, who were placed on administrative after the Del Rio incident,"appears to be politically motivated to provide cover for the rush to judgment and blatant mischaracterization by the Biden administration..."

The resolution commends all Border Patrol agents who responded to the crisis "for their use of restraint" despite a "lack of clear rules of engagement," and it concludes that the Department of Homeland Security "should commend, rather than punish," the agents at the center of the controversy.

Jessica Chasmar is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Jessica.Chasmar@fox.com and on Twitter: @JessicaChasmar.

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Cruz introduces resolution to commend Border Patrol agents falsely accused of whipping migrants - Fox News

Joe Bidens presidential hopes are finished. This is over.

Those are the words of CNBC political commentator Jake Novak. They were published on Feb. 12, 2020, after then-candidate Biden placed fifth with 8% of the vote in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. So much for foresight.

Biden, a former vice president at the time, foresaw a more favorable path ahead after getting clobbered in the opening presidential nominating contests. He never minded the naysayers and went on to win the 2020 presidential election, despite the delusions of former President Donald Trump and a disturbing number of his followers.

Which brings us to another former vice president with presidential aspirations, Columbus native Mike Pence.

Mike Pence is not going to be elected president of the United States.

Those are the words of Roll Call commentator Nathan Gonzales. They were published July 22, 2022, after a fresh Morning Consult survey found Pence had 7% support among Republicans expressing a view of who they favored as the partys nominee in 2024.

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are far out in front of third-place Pence in the poll. But anyone who puts stock in what polls say more than two years ahead of an election should refrain from wagering.

Meager as Pences numbers are in the most recent poll, theyre climbing from the low single digits where hed been in prior polls. Further, Pence is ensured of a bright, likely sympathetic national spotlight when his memoir, So Help Me God is published in November.

The title revealed last week is a not-too-subtle reference to the final words of the oath Pence swore as vice president, to which he was faithful on Jan. 6 as a mob incited by Trump attacked the Capitol, some chanting, Hang Mike Pence! after Trump tweeted a target on Pences back amid the mayhem.

Publisher Simon & Schuster paid Pence a reported $3 million to $4 million for a two-book deal. That publishing house is in the CBS media family, so expect a 60 Minutes appearance and even more marquee exposure for Pence just after the upcoming mid-term elections. Theyll want a return on their investment. Thats not cynicism, its just how publishing and mega-media works today.

Pence hasnt officially announced hes running yet, but he is. You dont go speak in the places hes going and speaking if youre not running.

Looking back is instructive, too. In 2006, two years before Barack Obama was elected president, someone named John Edwards was the early Democratic favorite. Weve forgotten him for good reason.

Likewise, in 2014, two years before Trump was elected, another former Florida governor led the early Republican presidential primary polls. Anyone remember Jeb! Bush? Anyone?

History shows politics is a long game, and parties most often coalesce around candidates they know, who can make the case to a broad consensus of Americans that they are the right person at the right moment. Point is, Pence has not had his post-Trump moment yet, but hes about to.

We are making no predictions. However, based on history and the swirling vortex of Jan. 6 surrounding Trump, counting Pence out of the 2024 Republican presidential race at this early stage is foolhardy. Pence may never be president, but right now, history and time are on his side.

See more here:
Editorial: Its too early to count out Pence in 24 - The Republic

Under ordinary circumstances, I would never do this, but I feel I have no choice but to say a few words about Alex Jones, who is now Americas most thoroughly disgraced right-wing grifter and please excuse the language scumbag.

The InfoWars host is not nearly as important a fake conspiracy theorist as say, Donald Trump, the former Grifter in Chief, or Tucker Carlson, who (Im guessing) doesnt believe a single provocative word he says, or even Laura Ingraham or Steve Bannon.

But Jones is an avowed QAnon-level conspiracy theorist, whose Infowars broadcasts are all in, for instance, on the Democratic pedophile conspiracy hoax, and who has a long history of promoting lies hes a longtime COVID anti-vaxxer, of course for profit, money reportedly running into many tens of millions of dollars, even as Jones keeps claiming bankruptcy. But Jones seems to have specialized in suggesting the worst of the many mass shootings in America had been staged. You know, like the moon landing. Thats when he isnt ranting about gay frogs.

In Jones latest trial, he was forced to admit the Sandy Hook massacre was 100% real as every sane person had to know and that he should never have claimed that the school shooting was a false flag operation, with crisis actors pretending to be grieving parents of children who didnt really exist. The fakery was supposedly in the would-be cause of governmental gun grabbing and the trashing of the Second Amendment.

In the Austin trial, Jones was caught lying by the prosecutor, Mark Bankston, who asked Jones if he actually understood what perjury means, and by one of the parents who lost a child at Sandy Hook, who asked him directly, Do you think Im an actor? Jones admitted he didnt. It seems that even someone like Jones can be shamed by a real parent of a real child lost in another senseless shooting or maybe, and this is my guess, it was Jones regret that was faked.

In any case, Jones had to admit it was all a fraud, even though another host on Infowars was busily calling Jones trial rigged and blasting out a video of the judge in flames.

But Jones was hit with a $4 million verdict for compensatory damages to the parents of a Sandy Hook victim. And that was just the beginning. The jury came back the next day to award them $45.2 million in punitive damages. Given the living hell, as one parent put it, that Jones put the Sandy Hook parents through, $452 million would have been better but still not enough. The punitive awards are punishment and a warning. And while the $45.2 million, with more Sandy Hook trials to come, could bury Jones, it wont snuff out the conspiracy theorists. Thanks to the darker places on the internet, and to the millions who visit them, this is never going way.

Still, it was a great moment for Sandy Hook parents there are more trials coming and for the injured parties in other school shootings. And, at minimum, the jury awards and Jones testimony did shine a light on the worst of the hoaxes and the damage they cause.

When Jones has to admit under oath that hes a giant fraud, hes basically saying under oath that a long list of his conspiracy theorist pals are also fraudulent.

Most in the MAGA community, including Trump himself, had little to nothing to say about Jones, although Marjorie Taylor Greene she of Jewish space laser infamy did tweet support for him for his testimony trying to link the Clintons with Jeffrey Epstein. Of course she did.

And it was Trump, of course, who years after Jones lies about Sandy Hook, told the renowned fabulist, Your reputation is amazing.

Yes, he did. Just as he once told the Proud Boys to stand back and stand by.

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And guess what Jones said back to Trump in that infamous 2015 radio interview: What youre doing is epic. Its George Washington level.

What makes this Jones humiliation especially satisfying is that the trial was happening at the same time that Big Lie conspiracist or maybe shes a Big Lie dupe Tina Peters was paying $255,000 for a recount of her decisive loss in the GOP primary race to be the partys secretary of state nominee.

In the recount of a race the Mesa County clerk lost by 88,000 votes, she picked up 13 votes. Thats it. And the 13 votes were coincidentally the exact number picked up by Pam Anderson, the actual winner. Peters is still claiming fraud what else? but youd have to hope that at least some believers might now have doubts. I mean, do you really think the Chinese had any interest in Tina Peters or even know who she is?

Youd also think that at least some of the suckers who contributed as much as $500,000 to Peters after her loss were, at minimum, embarrassed by their navet. Maybe not, but the rest of the country had to notice what was happening in Austin and in Colorado.

Read more of Mike Littwins columns.

Ive got a feeling that Peters coming days in court on 10 election-related charges, seven of them felonies, might not turn out any better for her than this latest day in court did for Jones.

Im not suggesting that this is a new day. In the recent Arizona primary election, Republican Big Lie proponents swept the major offices. People are keeping score in how Trump-backed candidates do in the primaries, and hes definitely holding his own.

Political grifters have a long history in America, dating back at least to Mark Twains famous line in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in which he has the fraudulent King telling the fraudulent Duke, Haint we got all the fools in town on our side? And aint that a big enough majority in any town?

Well, it wasnt a big enough majority for Peters or for Jones. Thats progress. And now were left to wonder where that leaves the House January 6 select committee, which has laid out, in one hearing after another, compelling evidence that Trumps Big Lie was an even bigger lie than we knew.

It now looks as if the hearings, which are scheduled to resume in September, have put enough heat on Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice to do a genuine inquiry into Trumps more-than-obvious attempt to steal the 2020 election, not to mention to incite a riot at the nations Capitol, putting Mike Pence and others in real danger and, well, I could go on. And on.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, it seems that theres an excellent chance a grand jury will indict Trump for various crimes - it seems they havent forgotten Trumps coercive phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, asking him to find 11,000 votes against democracy.

Trump is, of course, a serial liar. The Washington Post, which kept score, put the number of lies during his four years as president as 30,573. His path to the presidency began with his full commitment to the Obama birther conspiracy. That was also a Big Lie but not as big as the one weve been dealing with since Trump began scheming to overturn his 2020 defeat.

The cynical view which, sadly, may prove to be true is that Trump will never have to pay for his misdeeds. But lets hope, at least, that there comes a day when a prosecutor gets to ask Trump if he knows what perjury is.

Mike Littwin has been a columnist for too many years to count. He has covered Dr. J, four presidential inaugurations, six national conventions and countless brain-numbing speeches in the New Hampshire and Iowa snow

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Littwin: It's been a tough week for conspiracy theorists. Is Trump next? - The Colorado Sun