Abbott puts another $30M in Operation Lone Star
AUSTIN — Texas’ border security military initiative dubbed Operation Lone Star will receive another financial boost to support grant funding for local border security efforts.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that the state will add an additional $30 million to the program that provides funding to cities and counties in border initiatives, such as deterring “criminal activity related to the border crisis.”
The move comes even as the program, launched last September, still has about half of its initial seed money of $100 million unallocated.
"Operation Lone Star grant funding has played an integral role in our mission to keep Texans safe and support local communities,” Abbott said in a statement. “I encourage local governments to apply for these funds as we work together to prevent illegal immigration and the smuggling of people, illegal weapons, and deadly drugs like fentanyl from Mexico into Texas."
Of the total, $14 million is earmarked for border-adjacent counties and will become available on Sept. 1. The remaining $16 million is available to any city or county. The state Public Safety Office will accept applications beginning July 11.
Operation Lone Star launched in March 2021. Last year, Texas legislators approved $3 billion for border measures, a portion of which funds OLS. The state has also redirected allocated funding from other state agencies, such as the Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Department of Public Safety, to fund the operation. Some estimates put the annual cost of OLS to be about $2 billion.
The purpose of the operation is to curb crime and drug trafficking, predominantly fentanyl, across the border, but it has also been mired in controversy, including pay issues and the deaths of national guard members.
The U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating Texas and OLS for alleged civil rights violations, first reported by The Texas Tribune. In a report, federal officials allege that the Texas Department of Public Safety “may be discriminating on the basis of race and/or national origin in its activities related to Operation Lone Star by targeting certain individuals for arrests for misdemeanor trespass violations and traffic stops based on their perceived or actual race or national origin.”
Abbott has defended the initiative, saying "Texans demand and deserve an aggressive, comprehensive border security strategy that will protect our communities from the dangerous consequences related to illegal immigration."
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