Four members of the unit working on Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission have been punished after whistleblowers reported the surveillance operation violated long-standing rules against state-run spy operations.
Operation Lone Star
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star to ramp up security along the Texas-Mexico border in March 2021, citing insufficient policies from the federal government. He announced that the state would deploy resources from the Department of Public Safety and the National Guard. The Texas Legislature dedicated nearly $2 billion toward the effort. But the operation has been mired in controversy; National Guard troops have called it a disaster, and migrants arrested on state trespassing charges have gotten caught in confused legal proceedings, their lawyers citing due-process violations. Texas Tribune reporters are covering the border initiative and its effects on the people involved. Help us investigate Operation Lone Star by sharing your experiences living at the border or near it.
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Operation Lone Star
Mexico files diplomatic complaint over Gov. Greg Abbott’s floating border barriers
The Mexican government plans to send an inspection team to see if Texas’ buoys have crossed into Mexico’s side of the border.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Effort to fix payroll error for state National Guard troops falls short in Texas Senate
The mistake meant about 7,400 soldiers sent to the Texas-Mexico border under Operation Lone Star were hit with higher-than-expected federal income taxes.
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Operation Lone Star
Gov. Greg Abbott focuses on border security in first address since Allen and Brownsville tragedies
Abbott announced the deployment of new “Texas Tactical Border Force” units to El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley on Monday and Tuesday.
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Operation Lone Star
Texas Military Department says it needs $460 million more to keep border mission afloat this year
State officials have repeatedly had to move money from other departments to keep Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border mission running this year.
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Operation Lone Star
Migrant shot and injured by National Guard soldier patrolling border
It’s the first-known incident where a soldier has shot a migrant since the mission began. The injury is non-life threatening.
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Operation Lone Star
After a Texas National Guard member died, his family got no financial payment. Lawmakers want to change that.
In April, Bishop Evans drowned after jumping into the Rio Grande to save two migrants being swept away by the current. His family members will receive no financial payment, but they would if he worked for DPS or was under federal deployment.
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Operation Lone Star
National Guard member deployed for Operation Lone Star stabbed while off duty in Mexico
The service member is expected to recover.
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Operation Lone Star
Travis County judges can’t hear appeals from migrants arrested under Texas border security push, court rules
The Court of Criminal Appeals scuttled nearly 450 cases, saying migrants arrested for trespassing in Kinney County can’t ask Austin judges to hear their appeals.
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Operation Lone Star
A growing number of Texas rural counties are declaring local immigration “disasters”
The latest county to make a disaster declaration is an eight-hour drive away from the Texas-Mexico border, but local officials there say they’re under “invasion.”