Operation Lone Star

"James Talarico is now claiming he pushed back against the Biden administration's open border.

Here is his actual voting record on major border security bills in the Texas legislature from 2021 to 2025." 2021, we had HB 9, was, uh, supplemental funding for Operation Lone Star, about $2 billion.

Uh, he voted no. 2023, SB 4 created a state crime of illegal entry and re-entry and authorized state arrest and removal orders.

He voted no on that as well.

Um, and so I actually...

When Operation Lone Star happened w- under Governor Abbott, I volunteered.

Uh, so I was an, an army officer at the time, and so I, um, I joined the border mission, but with the Texas Army National Guard.

Um, because if you remember at that time, the State of Texas was actually trying to secure the border and while the border patrol agents were cutting our, uh, concertina wire and were trying to allow the invasion to happen and facilitate it.

Um, and, and now we do have a program, um, the 287G program, the, that task force with local law enforcement.

It started last November, uh, that, uh, child welfare where local law enforcement can actually get these names and try to go look for them as well.

And there's certain incentives, um, because I'm also a consultant with Operation Lone Star Task Force.

We're the largest task force in the nation, seventy-three current law enforcement agencies as well as federal.

Chapter 15: The Trooper.

Okay, so let's back up for a second to the start of Operation Lone Star.

Operation Lone Star was this flood the zone initiative from Texas Governor Greg Abbott where he called up the Texas National Guard and he sent a bunch of guardsmen down to the border plus thousands of state troopers from DPS, all to help out with border security.

I know the border is always a hot button issue and now kind of more than ever, but this is not a political podcast.

That said, Operation Lone Star is where this part of our story begins.

Because one of those state troopers was Joseph Hogue.

In fact, Joe was working on the border right after Christmas in 2023 when he sent me that first email.

None of that.

Um, border.

Launch- launched Operation Lone Star in March '21.

Okay, I'm good with that.

However, you've been there since 2015.

Um, [laughs] border bill, Senate budget, put billions into border security.

Okay.

Operation Lone Star.

I still think they should, could've, should've done that long before they did.

At a press conference on Friday, Governor Greg Abbott said the $7.5 billion in federal reimbursement coming to Texas could fund property tax relief.

With an oversized check from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at his side, the governor explained that the reimbursement was issued because of costs incurred under Operation Lone Star during the Biden administration.

The governor told Texas Scorecard that lawmakers will determine the final allocation, but he wants them, quote, "to dedicate as much as possible to property tax relief." He said some of the funding should also be applied to the state's ongoing border security efforts.

More money could still be coming to Texas because the state spent more than $10 billion on border security costs that should have been borne federally during Joe Biden's term.

They're s- they're standing at the ready.

Texas DPS, Operation Lone Star, the Texas Military Department, they're all still very active down here along the southern border.

And they say that they're watching the caravan, they're watching things like that, uh, that could potentially cause issues along the southern border.

C- could potentially cause, uh, a surge in people trying to come here.

Governor Abbott was in Austin, Texas today.

The Capitol announcing the state had secured a $7.5 billion federal reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for state border security costs from Operation Lone Star.

there has been a slight uptick in those coming across the border.

There's some other challenges that we're monitoring in the early stages of right now.

So my style of leadership is about rolling up my sleeves and getting the work done.

Greg Abbott, what he's done in the name of border security is political theater, a dog and pony show that has cost us billions, by the way.

It has not come for free.

Let me tell you what he did in what he's calling Operation Lone Star.

Uh, we need to talk.

We need to have our border members on the phone to talk to y'all." They heard an earful.

What did they do then? They, the next week, sent a delegation to Mexico to make the Mexicans enforce border security on their side.

They negotiated a deal to have Mexico enforce on their side, and crossings plummeted.