Greg Abbott Deploys Drone Technology In Border Battle

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has revealed his state’s National Guard used “drone technology” to track down four suspected illegal migrants who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, before they were arrested and charged with criminal trespass.

The information was published as part of Abbott’s weekly update into Operation Lone Star, a multiagency program he initiated in 2021 in a bid to combat irregular immigration.

Illegal migration has become one of the most heated political issues over the past few years with 9.8 million encounters between law enforcement and suspected irregular migrants between October 2019 and January 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, has made cracking down on illegal crossings a key plank in his campaign for a second White House term.

On Friday, Abbott shared a photograph on X of what appear to be two National Guard soldiers standing by a border fence topped with razor wire.

He wrote: “Operation Lone Star personnel use drone technology to thwart illegal crossings along our southern border.

“Texas continues to use every tool and strategy to deter and repel illegal immigration into our state.”

An attached update from Abbott’s office discussed how the Texas National Guard used drones this week to combat a suspected illegal border crossing.

It said: “Earlier this week, Texas National Guard soldiers used drone technology to assist law enforcement officers arrest four illegal immigrants who just crossed the border. All four illegal immigrants were charged with criminal trespassing.

“The Texas National Guard continues to work alongside state and local law enforcement partners to prevent, deter, and repel transnational criminal activity and illegal crossings along the Texas-Mexico border.”

According to Abbott’s update, since the launch of Operation Lone Star in 2021, 511,300 suspected illegal migrants have been apprehended, with a further 42,900 being arrested on suspicion of committing crimes. Of those arrested, Abbott’s office said 37,900 received felony charges.

The update also claimed Texas law enforcement had “seized over 481 million lethal doses of fentanyl” during the operation, which it described as “enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States and Mexico.”

Abbott also gave the latest figures on the number of migrants Texan authorities have dispatched to major Democratic cities, a policy they initiated in 2022.

Those dispatched during this time include 44,500 to New York City, 36,000 to Chicago and 12,500 to Washington D.C.

Newsweek contacted Governor Abbott’s office for comment by email outside of usual business hours.

Disputes over irregular immigration have caused a surge in tensions between Texan authorities and the Biden administration since the beginning of 2024.

On Jan. 22, the Supreme Court ruled that federal agents could remove razor wire placed along the border with Mexico on Abbott’s orders by Texas National Guard troops.

In response, Abbott said his state was being “invaded” and invoked its “constitutional authority to defend and protect itself,” leading some Democrats to argue that the Texas National Guard should be brought under federal control.