Texas DPS: epicenter of border crisis is now San Diego, 'we'd like to keep it that way'
In the last two years, 18 states have deployed roughly 2,400 National Guard troops to Texas to participate in OLS, he said.
By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor
Published: June 14, 2024 11:00pm
At a recent Texas Senate Committee hearing on border security and the progress of Texas' border security mission, Operation Lone Star, officials discussed how state efforts have moved illegal entry west to New Mexico, Arizona and California.
When the border crisis first erupted in early 2021 after the Biden administration began implementing a range of policies, Texas border towns were overrun with crime and a volume of people taxing local resources. In March 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott created OLS, which has since expanded operations. In January 2023, he brought on a new "Border Czar," Mike Banks to help lead Texas' efforts after he served for decades in the U.S. Border Patrol.
Banks reiterated to the committee the success of OLS first reported on by The Center Square, that as Texas expanded its efforts, illegal entry increased in New Mexico, Arizona and California. In December 2022, Texas accounted for 60% of all cross-border traffic across the entire southwest border. By January 2024, that number dropped to only 29%, he said.
https://justthenews.com/nation/state...ed-keep-it-way
