(Ezekiel Loseke, Headline USA) A week after declaring the wave of illegal immigration crushing his state an invasion, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has deployed tank-like vehicles owned by the state’s National Guard to the southern border, according to the Washington Examiner.
A week after his reelection, Abbot declared illegal immigration from Mexico to be an invasion. The message, however, was tweeted and appeared to be something of a publicity stunt rather than a serious attempt at thinning the invading horde.
The state’s action has been dubbed “Operation Lone Star,” and the Texas government is touting its own program at texas.gov.
Some media outlets added to the confusion by reporting what the Daily Mail called tanks owned by the Texas National Guard had been deployed to the border, with a headline that read “Now Texas Governor Abbott sends TANKS to the border after threatening to send gunboats.”
The vehicles were not tanks, but armored personnel carries from the Vietnam era, the Examiner reported. They were designed to transport troops through rough terrain while sheltering soldiers from small-arms fire and minor explosions.
Ten of the vehicles are being used to transport troops to the border for the purpose of training, according to the Texas Tribune.
While some criticized the move as little but political theater, Abbott praised the Guard for their efforts.
Texas Military Department service members work side by side with the Texas Department of Public Safety & other law enforcement to stop illegal activities from crossing the Texas-Mexico border.
Thank you for keeping our state safe. pic.twitter.com/V9ezpAhvVa
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 21, 2022
Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, Texas officials claimed more than 325,000 illegals have been apprehended with nearly 22,000 criminal charges, and over 19,4000 felony charges filed. The state also claimed that the operation has seized over 352 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.
The state’s press release reported that, “Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border,” Abbott’s office said in a statement.
“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.”
