'Operation Lone Star' aims to secure Texas border against human and drug smuggling into US

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety have announced the launch of "Operation Lone Star," an effort to block human and drug smuggling at the nation's southern border.

"It deploys Nat'l Guard + DPS Officers + air, ground, marine, & tactical border security assets to deny Mexican Cartels & smugglers the ability to move drugs & people into Texas," Gov. Abbott noted in a tweet.

The Republican governor targeted the Biden administration in a statement about the effort, saying that the crisis at the nation's border is worsening due to the administration's policies.

"The crisis at our southern border continues to escalate because of Biden Administration policies that refuse to secure the border and invite illegal immigration," Abbott said in the statement. "Texas supports legal immigration but will not be an accomplice to the open border policies that cause, rather than prevent, a humanitarian crisis in our state and endanger the lives of Texans. We will surge the resources and law enforcement personnel needed to confront this crisis."