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April 12, 2024 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard continue to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry. Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 507,200 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 41,500 criminal arrests, with more than 36,900 felony charges. In the fight against the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized over 471 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission. Texas has also transported:

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administrations 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 Joe Bidens open border policies. RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR: Governor Abbott: Texas Will Arrest Illegal Immigrants For Cutting Razor Wire On X, formerly known as Twitter, Governor Abbott reaffirmed Texas efforts to arrest every illegal immigrant who cuts the razor wire barrier built by the Texas National Guard with criminal destruction of state property.

Governor Abbott: Border Wall Construction Continues In Zapata County Governor Abbott shared footage of ongoing border wall construction in Zapata County on X. Texas continues to work around-the-clock to deter and repel illegal immigration along the southern border.

Governor Abbott: National Guard Reinforce Border Barriers In El Paso Governor Abbott shared a photo on X of Texas National Guard soldiers reinforcing razor wire barriers to stop illegal entry following the migrant surge in El Paso.

WATCH: DPS Troopers Arrest Human Smuggler In Kinney County While conducting a traffic stop in Kinney County, a DPS trooper observed two passengers lying down and attempting to conceal themselves in the rear of the vehicle. During the traffic stop, two illegal immigrants bailed toward the brush. The trooper also discovered two more illegal immigrants concealed in the trunk of the vehicle after one attempted to evade. The driver, Joshua Jevon Griffin from Beaumont, was arrested and charged with smuggling of persons. With assistance from Border Patrol, the two illegal immigrants who bailed toward the brush were apprehended. All four illegal immigrants, from Mexico, were referred to Border Patrol.

WATCH: DPS Troopers Arrest Illegal Immigrant For Assaulting Public Servant During a traffic stop in Val Verde County, a DPS trooper observed multiple people crammed in the rear area of a Chevrolet Tahoe. As the trooper arrested the driver, Amy Nicole Martinez from San Angelo, the passenger, Jaron Markeis Daniels from Dallas, ran toward the neighborhood and was arrested after a short foot chase. Martinez is charged with five counts of smuggling of persons. Daniels is charged with five counts of smuggling of persons, evading arrest, and resisting arrest. Four illegal immigrants were referred to U.S. Border Patrol. A fifth illegal immigrant, Jesus Aguilar-Aguilar from Mexico, was charged with evading arrest, assault on a public servant, and resisting arrest after a brief struggle with a trooper.

Seven Human Smugglers Arrested By DPS Brush Team In The Rio Grande Valley As part of an enhanced three-day border operation, the DPS Brush Team in the Rio Grande Valley arrested seven human smuggling foot guides. The seven guides, from Mexico, were involved in guiding illegal immigrants across the Rio Grande River to then be smuggled further into Texas and the United States.

DPS Brush Team Arrest Career Criminal Illegally In The Country The DPS Brush Team in the Rio Grande Valley arrested Gabriel Gutierrez-Perez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, after they saw him get picked up by a human smuggler while crossing the Rio Grande River on a jet ski. DPS later discovered Gutierrez-Perez is wanted in Florida for sexual assault on a child, child molestation, and sexual battery on a child. The Mexican national also has a full extradition warrant.

WATCH: Nations' Guardsmen Continue To Aid Texas Border Mission National Guardsmen from across the country continue to arrive in Texas to assist the state's historic and unprecedented mission to respond to President Bidens border crisis. Soldiers and airman from Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Tennessee are helping Texas National Guardsmen build and reinforce anti-climb barriers to deter and repel illegal crossings along the Texas-Mexico border.

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Operation Lone Star Arrests Violent Criminals, Human Smugglers - Office of the Texas Governor

SALT LAKE CITY Listening to the fierce ongoing debate about illegal immigration and frequently harsh talk about undocumented immigrants hits close to home for Eva Lpez.

"It's a personal story to me because I was born from an undocumented immigrant, and I know the contributions of my family personally," said Lpez, a new member of the Salt Lake City Council. "I'll tell you this without those workers, you wouldn't have food on the table, and that's my family's background in farm work and labor."

Across the nation and Utah, calls are growing from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for more steps to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants across the southern border with Mexico. Parallel to that, the tone of the political conversation, chiefly from the right, has grown particularly hard against undocumented immigrants themselves.

In a press conference late last month, Gov. Spencer Cox lamented the "dysfunctional" federal response to the border issue, saying it might necessitate a harder stance at the state level against undocumented immigrants. He was referencing a measure he signed into law in March, HB165, that Rep. Trevor Lee, its author, sees as a potential precursor to Texas-style legislation authorizing Utah law enforcement officials to round up and deport undocumented immigrants.

"If we have people in our custody and ICE isn't willing to take them and deport them, then I guess ... the states are going to have to do that," Cox said.

Former President Donald Trump, vying again for the top office, has offered harsh talk in the context of killings and other crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. "The Democrats say, 'Please don't call them animals. They're humans.' I said, 'No, they're not humans, they're not humans, they're animals,'" Trump, a Republican, said at a rally earlier this month in Michigan, according to Reuters.

Such strong talk notwithstanding, others, like Lpez and Utah Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, say the issue is more nuanced than suggested by those offering the stronger talk. They view the toughest talk coming from the right as the weaponization of the issue for political gain.

"I've been really disappointed with the tone people have taken toward undocumented immigrants," said Romero, also the president of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. She particularly laments "people being dehumanized that are searching for better opportunities for their families."

Lack of control at the U.S.-Mexico border, Romero said, has been an ongoing issue under both Democratic and Republican administrations that needs to be fixed by U.S. lawmakers. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, could do more to get control of the border, she said. But she also noted what some view as a capitulation by congressional GOPers to Trump on a border fix that had seemingly had bipartisan backing before the former president blasted it and support fizzled.

"So again, we're not looking for a solution. From my perspective, we're looking at scapegoating people and dehumanizing them for political gain, which I think is ridiculous," Romero charged.

Lpez sees "fear mongering" from the harshest critics in the immigration debate and instead puts the focus on the contributions of immigrants, undocumented or otherwise. Both she and Romero noted immigrants' historic role in the nation's growth while Lpez said a key element of the discussion should center on "how to protect these families that have the right to seek asylum" and incorporate them into the state.

"I'm interested in building community, and I know those immigrants are, too. They're interested in joining our communities," Lpez said. Her parents, originally from Mexico, "were able to move up and get proper documentation. I mean, for many of us, that is our story."

Central in the immigration debate, apart from the significant uptick in numbers of people trying to cross illegally from Mexico into the United States, has been the impact undocumented immigrants have in the communities where they settle. Critics point to the costs of educating undocumented children in public schools, their use of public services, the medical and other benefits the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants can tap and more. They also note the violent crimes committed by some, like the February killing in Georgia of Laken Riley in which a Venezuelan national, Jose Antonio Ibarra, who had crossed illegally into the United States, is charged.

Incidents like Riley's killing, immigrant advocates counter, are anomalies, not reflective of how the vast majority of immigrants in the United States, regardless of their migratory status, live their day-to-day lives. Beyond that, they say, undocumented immigrants play a vital role in the labor force and contribute significantly to the U.S. economy.

"Truthfully, as an immigrant, I can say that we do many things that benefit this country," said Oscar Correa, host of a program on La Ley 107.1 FM, a Spanish-language Salt Lake City radio station. "The people here who are undocumented are hard-working people, people who come here to better their families."

Immigrants were key pillar of the labor force during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many others worked from home, he said, and they play a key role in Utah's vibrant construction industry. Correa, originally from Colombia, addresses current events and more during his radio program, frequently interviewing members of the Latino and immigrant communities and meeting with them at events hosted by La Ley.

"They're people who aren't asking the government for any benefits, only that it let them work," he said. "I think Utah commerce of late has grown a lot, and Hispanics, immigrants have a lot to do with that."

As the debate has evolved in the state, some politicos, like Republican gubernatorial challenger Phil Lyman, have charged that Utah is "a sanctuary state," essentially soft on undocumented immigrants. Cox, for one, has rebuked the contention.

Lopez, asked about the label, said, instead, that Utah is a place where "family values" dominate.

"Because of that, we are welcoming to families. Regardless of the title you put on it, again, we are a state that has always valued that and valued empowering individuals and their families to seek opportunities. ... That has paved our success economically as a state."

Correa said the immigration debate has caused squirming among some in the community. Regardless, immigrants are also cognizant that they add to the country.

"We feel a little bit of uncertainty. But at the same time, we are also conscious that we've done a lot of good things all this time we've been in the United States," he said.

Continue reading here:
Utah immigrant advocates blast anti-illegal immigration talk as 'fear mongering,' 'dehumanizing' - KSL.com

Today, America is safer thanks to the agents of HSI

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSIs mission is to investigate, disrupt and dismantle terrorist, transnational and other criminal organizations that threaten or seek to exploit the customs and immigration laws of the United States.

HSI has broad legal authority to conduct federal criminal investigations into the illegal cross-border movement of people, goods, money, technology and other contraband throughout the United States. HSI utilizes these authorities to investigate a wide array of transnational crime, including: terrorism; national security threats; narcotics smuggling; transnational gang activity; child exploitation; human smuggling and trafficking; illegal exports of controlled technology and weapons; money laundering; financial fraud and scams; worksite and employment crimes; cybercrime; intellectual property theft and trade fraud; identity and benefit fraud; and human rights violations and war crimes.

In collaboration with its strategic partners in the U.S. and abroad, HSI special agents gather evidence to identify and build criminal cases against Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), terrorist networks and facilitators, and other criminal elements that threaten the United States. HSI works with prosecutors to indict and arrest violators, execute criminal search warrants, seize criminally derived money and assets, and take other actions designed to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations operating around the world. These efforts protect U.S. national, border, and economic security, and ensure the safety of the public and our communities.

HSIs workforce consists of more than 8,700 employees, including special agents, criminal analysts, mission support personnel and contract staff assigned to offices throughout the United States and around the world.

Most of HSIs 6,000 special agents are assigned to one of HSIs 237 Special Agent in Charge (SAC) offices or sub-offices located across the nation. HSIs domestic footprint is supplemented by more than 2,800 task force officers representing key strategic federal, state and local partners in the fight to combat transnational criminal organizations.

HSIs international force is DHSs largest investigative presence abroad, anchored by special agents assigned to U.S. embassies, consulates and Department of Defense (DOD) combatant commands around the globe. HSI has one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

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Homeland Security Investigations - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom

President Joe Biden claims he needs new legislation to secure our borders. Hes claimed he lacks the authority to address the surge weve seen since he took office. This is false. President Biden has the same tools President Trump did when President Trump brought illegal border crossings to a 45-year low. In reality, Bidens own policy decisions created the catastrophe at our southern border. His policies have enabled mass migration of illegal immigrants. The Biden administration is abusing the parole and asylum process, which encourages people to come here illegally.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the president has the authority to parole foreigners into this country. Parole is supposed to only be granted on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian need or significant public benefit. President Obama and President Trump paroled an average of 5,600 people per year. Yet the Biden administration has abused parole to let 1.2 million foreign nationals into this country last year. Thats not a case-by-case basis. Thats a policy choice to admit entire classes of people. This clear abuse of authority must stop.

The Biden administration has also abused the asylum system. Since October 2022, the Biden Administration has promoted the use of an expanded CBP One cell phone app for asylum seekers. Through the expanded app, foreign nationals from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, or Nicaragua can request permission to fly to the United States while they wait for an asylum hearing. They also request temporary humanitarian release inside our country. This includes foreign nationals who would otherwise be ineligible for admission. Once approved by CBP, they are allowed to board flights to one of 43 U.S. airports. There, they are inspected and released into our country on parole. This parole allows for two-year periods of legal status, during which they are eligible for work authorization.

The Center for Immigration Studies released a report showing that 320,000 foreign nationals landed at the 43 U.S. airports last year. Thats more than the population of Lincoln, Nebraska. Venezuelans are the largest group, representing 79,990 of the 320,000 people. This use of the CBP One app circumvents our normal legal immigration process. This is unacceptable.

Nebraskans have legitimate questions in response to this report. Which airports are included in the 43 airports receiving illegal immigrants? How many illegal immigrants are arriving in Nebraska? The Biden administration refuses to give Nebraskans the answers they deserve.

President Bidens failed policies have created the national security, humanitarian, and drug catastrophe were seeing. Under President Biden, every state is now a border state. Every town is a border town. Instead of changing course, his policies continue to make the problem worse. President Biden doesnt need new laws. His policies are the problem. Congress must act if he will not reverse course. Thats why Im fighting to pass legislation to force him to do his job.

I introduced the Ensure Uniform Border Inspection Practices Act to improve enforcement at our border. I support a comprehensive package of solutions to secure the border. This includes reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy, building the border wall, and ending asylum loopholes. Im supporting legislation to hire more Border Patrol agents. Im backing bills to bring accountability to drug cartels and bring accountability to the sanctuary cities that enable more illegal immigration. Im also working to end catch and release and stop President Bidens abuse of parole.

I will continue to work with my colleagues on new ways to reverse President Bidens open borders policies. I wont stop until our border is secured and Bidens abuse of parole is ended.

My team and I are here to serve you. Contact us anytime by phone at 202-224-4224 or on my website at http://www.ricketts.senate.gov/contact.

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Pete Ricketts: The Biden Admin is Facilitating Illegal Immigration - Scottsbluff Star Herald

Former Senate President Chuck Morse (R-Salem) and former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte at a Manchester fundraiser in 2021.

Chuck Morse is warning Republican primary voters about Amnesty Ayotte and the former U.S. senators record on immigration.

Kelly Ayotte says Morses attack is just to distract from the fact the former state Senate president killed a ban on sanctuary cities in 2022, while Ayotte has never supported amnesty and never will.

Meanwhile, Granite State GOP insiders worry that a divisive primary could put Republican control of the corner office at risk in November, which is shaping up to be a tough environment for the party.

Joyce and Cinde are holding joint press conferences, and Chuck and Kelly are at the convention attacking each other, one GOP insider complained to NHJournal.

Democrats Joyce Craig and Cinde Warmington, both of whom are seeking the governors nomination, participated in a Democratic event together on Thursday, attacking Donald Trump and the GOP over the issue of abortion. Thus far, former Manchester Mayor Craig and Executive Councilor Warmington have largely avoided on-the-record attacks against each other, though they have been shopping opposition research attacks to the press.

The Chuck Morse campaign has created the Amnesty Ayotte website.

Ayotte and Morse, however, have taken their fight public.

The Morse campaign has launched an Amnesty Ayotte website, claiming the former senator talks like a conservative but votes like a liberal. In particular, Morse is pointing out Ayottes support for comprehensive immigration legislation in 2013 that included a path to citizenshipcommonly referred to as amnestyfor millions of illegal aliens.

And the Ayotte campaign has released a Chuck Morse: Not Ready for Prime Time YouTube video featuring audio of Morse on Drew Clines WFEA radio show. Cline asked Morse about a sanctuary city ban that passed the House and came before the state Senate in 2022 when he was still Senate president. Morse dismissed the bill as not ready for prime time.

A bill banning sanctuary cities is currently in the process of being passed by the state Senate over unified Democratic opposition.

Granite State Republicans were reluctant to talk to NHJournal on the record about the two campaigns going negative on immigration. But on background, there was a clear division of opinions. Some argued that campaigns involve conflict and its inevitable that the two candidates will tussle. Others bemoaned the attacks, saying they amp up pre-existing fears that, with Trump at the top of the ticket, November is already going to be tough for the New Hampshire GOP. Negative campaigning makes holding onto the governors office even harder.

That divide was on stark display Saturday when Morse and Ayotte addressed the GOPs biennial convention in Concord. Morse used his time to call out Ayottes record on amnesty, and his campaign handed out baseball-card-style campaign literature with the name of an illegal immigrant convicted of a stabbing death committed after Ayottes vote for the comprehensive immigration deal.

Some Republican attendees were less than thrilled.

The chairman [Chris Ager] delivers a message about working together and beating Democrats, and then Chuck goes on stage and attacks Kelly, one attendee told NHJournal. It didnt go over very well.

John Corbett, spokesperson for the Ayotte campaign, agreed.

On a day when Gov. Sununu and Chairman Ager called for a united front against the Democrats, Chuck Morse selfishly decided that he would launch false and desperate attacks against Kelly Ayotte. Just like his campaign, these lies fell flat. Unlike Chuck, Kelly is focused on winning up and down the ticket in November so that we can keep our great state safe, prosperous, and free.

But a Morse supporter who was in the crowd told NHJournal, Chuck did great!

Several legislators in the Trump wing of the party told NHJournal they appreciated Morses willingness to fight, particularly on the immigration issue. A lot of us remember 2016 and why she lost then, one state representative said, referring to third-party and independent candidates who appealed to disgruntled Republicans unhappy with Ayottes handling of abortion and the Trump candidacy.

The Morse campaign is showing no signs of backing down.

Putting aside for a moment that Kelly Ayotte took a shot at Chuck Morse with her disingenuous video the night before, if she cant take a 100 percent fact-based argument about her abysmal record in Washington, then how is she going to hold up against the tactics of New Hampshires Democrat Party? asked Morse campaign manager Maya Harvey. While Kelly has been focused on her career advancement, Chuck has helping electing down ballot Republicans for decades.

Still, say Ayotte supporters, shes leading in fundraising, and they believe she has the broad-based appeal in the party to win the nomination.

And theres a potential upside for the GOP: Fighting over getting tough on immigration enforcement keeps a winning issue for Republicans front and center for the votersvoters who overwhelmingly trust Trump and Republicans on the issue more than Democrats. It also highlights the stance of Craig and Warmington, who both oppose a ban on sanctuary cities in New Hampshire.

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GOP Gov. Primary Heats up as Ayotte, Morse Throw Down on Illegal Immigration - NH Journal