Yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott paid homage to the sheriffs protecting the southern border at the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition Annual Spring Cooperative Meeting with the Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalition in McAllen.
The Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition and the Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalition were formed to assist sheriffs whose counties fall within 25 miles of the border between U.S. and Mexico.
Governor Abbott thanked the sheriffs for keeping Texans safe by preventing dangerous drugs like fentanyl, illegal weapons, and immigrants from streaming into the U.S.
“To serve as a sheriff is to answer a higher calling, and each of you show true courage, dedication, and a strong desire to protect your fellow man,” said Governor Abbott. “I am proud of the work we have done together to secure our border in this bipartisan coalition. The Biden Administration may not believe our border is in crisis right now, but we set aside political differences to help our border communities and Texans. Thank you for your hard work securing the border and battling the deadly scourge of fentanyl gripping our state and nation.”
Governor Abbott promoted his proposed legislation to provide $350 million to aid rural sheriff operations and boost funding for public safety grants to the counties participating in Operation Lone Star.
Operation Lone Star, launched in 2021, is a multi-agency effort to stop cartels and criminals from flooding the border with deadly drugs, weapons, and immigrants. It has led to over 23,000 criminal arrests and the seizure of over 354 million lethal doses of fentanyl.
Governor Abbott also spoke of his $10 million public awareness initiative to supply Narcan to sheriffs in all 254 counties of Texas and educate Texans about the dangers of fentanyl.
A press release, issued by Governor Abbott’s office, lists what they call, “unprecedented action to secure the border in the wake of the federal government’s inaction.” Some of these actions include aiding border towns by transporting thousands of migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Governor Abbott has also signed laws to get tougher on human traffickers, smugglers, and issued a disaster declaration for the border crisis.
In January 2023, Governor Abbott made a historic move to further protect the border. “For nearly two years, the State of Texas has taken unprecedented, historic action under Operation Lone Star in response to the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border,” Governor Abbott said in a press release. “To continue doing what no other state in the history of our country has done to secure the border, I hired Mike Banks as the State of Texas’ first-ever Border Czar.”
The men and women who serve as border sheriffs deserve recognition as they work to defend the United States from potentially lethal drugs and criminals. Do you think Governor Abbott’s stance on protecting the border is too aggressive or not aggressive enough? I’d love to read your opinions in the comments!
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