Operation Lone Star (OLS) is a joint operation between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department along the Mexico–United States border in southern Texas. The operation started in 2021 and is ongoing. According to Texas governor Greg Abbott, the operation is intended to counter a rise in illegal immigration, the illegal drug trade, and human smuggling. Between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021, migrant apprehensions had risen 278% along the US–Mexico border. According to The Center Square, OLS has resulted in 538,141 migrant apprehensions, 63,659 criminal arrests (including 51,091 felony charges), and 489 million doses of fentanyl seized. As of April 2022, OLS was spending approximately $2.5 million per week and was expected to cost approximately $2 billion per year. Approximately 10,000 National Guard members were deployed in support of OLS at the height of the operation, with around 6,000 deployed as of November 2022. One year after the start of Operation Lone Star, Texas saw a 9% increase in migrant encounters along its border with Mexico, compared to a 62% increase in Arizona, California, and New Mexico along their respective borders with Mexico. As of July 2024, the Department of Public Safety has estimated a 85% drop in illegal border crossings since the start of OLS.
OLS has drawn support from many Republican Party state governors. OLS drew criticism from the federal government under then-president Biden, Democratic Party governors and mayors, and migrant advocates for its treatment of migrants, including the withholding of water and orders to push migrants back into the Rio Grande. Migrants have had a more difficult time crossing areas of the Rio Grande due to razor wire set up by OLS, leading to some migrants becoming injured and/or captured in the wire. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized high speed pursuits in counties implementing OLS, which it attributed to causing 106 deaths and 301 injuries. Texas officials and national guard members have also voiced concerns about hardships sustained during deployment in support of OLS.
According to the governor, 119,200 migrants were voluntarily bused to sanctuary cities across the United States as of June 2024. A few migrants were also flown directly to these cities. This has resulted in migrant crises in cities like New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., as local resources are stretched thin to handle the new arrivals. Local officials in the sanctuary cities have criticized the busing program and responded by requesting federal assistance, fining charter bus companies carrying migrants, and sending migrants to other cities.
In January 2024, Texas officials seized control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, which was frequently used by United States Border Patrol to process new migrant arrivals. Border patrol agents were generally prohibited from the park, except to access a boat ramp in the park after three migrants drowned nearby while crossing the Rio Grande. This led to a standoff between federal and state officials. The Biden administration has said that it would refer the dispute to the United States Department of Justice if access was not restored for border patrol agents.
Smart Wall On July 4th, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and allocating $46.5 billion to continue construction on the Mexico-United States border wall. This includes a combination of a double wall, water barriers, and sensors to help with detection. They also included roads, lights and cameras to be constructed and installed.
The federal government’s $4.5 billion "Smart Wall" project will add hundreds of miles of high-tech border security, including detection systems through Big Bend National Park. The Big Bend National Park could soon have new border security under the federal government's "Smart Wall" initiative. Texas is still waiting to receive more than $11 billion in federal reimbursement for Operation Lone Star expenses.
Background and causes
Starting with "Operation Linebacker" by former governor Rick Perry, the State of Texas has been launching border security operations with increasing escalation since 2005. These operations were limited in scope due to the exclusive authority of federal immigration agents to deport migrants. Operation Lone Star was launched in 2021 to respond to the surge in border crossings, which Governor Abbott attributed to the Biden Administration's policies on immigration. In fiscal year 2021, enforcement actions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including detentions and arrests of migrants, rose to over 1.9 million, a 202% increase from fiscal year 2020. Meanwhile, a 278% increase in migrant encounters was seen at the southwest border from fiscal year 2020 to 2021, which continued rising into 2022.
Operation Lone Star differed from previous border operations due to the authority granted to state law enforcement officials to arrest migrants in border counties for offenses such as criminal trespassing and human smuggling. OLS efforts to empower local law enforcement to act against undocumented migrants have been complicated by the traditional delegation of immigration enforcement powers to federal officials. In Arizona v. United States, the Supreme Court overturned an Arizona law penalizing illegal immigration at a state level.
Timeline +Developments in Operation Lone StarDateNotable EventMarch 6, 2021Operation Lone Star is launchedMay 31, 2021Greg Abbott declares disaster via ProclamationJune 16, 2021Greg Abbott announces border wall construction strategyDecember 18, 2021First section of border wall completed in Rio Grande CityMarch 14, 2022Major General Tracy Norris is relieved of commandApril 6, 2022Bus and flight of immigrants to sanctuary city Washington, D.C., beginJuly 7, 2022Greg Abbott declares invasion via Executive Order GA-41September 21, 2022Greg Abbott designates Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations via Executive Order GA-42November 18, 2022M113 armored personnel carriers are deployedFebruary 3, 2023Greg Abbott establishes Texas Border Czar position, appoints Mike BanksMay 8, 2023Greg Abbott establishes and deploys Texas Tactical Border ForceMay 16, 2023Texas requests assistance from other states, utilizing the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.October 2, 2023The Texas Ranger Division and Texas Army National Guard occupied Fronton Island.December 18, 2023Greg Abbott signs bill SB 4, making illegal immigration a state crime, allowing Texas law enforcement to arrest undocumented migrants anywhere in the state. It also permits state courts to issue removal orders to send arrested migrants back across the Mexican border.January 11, 2024Greg Abbott executes emergency declaration ordering Texas Military Forces to seize control of 47-acre Shelby Park in Eagle Pass from United States Border Patrol agents.January 25, 202425 Republican state governors declare their support for Texas in its disputes with Federal authorities.February 16, 2024Greg Abbott announces FOB Eagle, an 80-acre forward operating base at Eagle Pass for 2,300 soldiersApril 19, 2024Additional resources were sent to help secure border in El Paso due to a surge of illegal immigrants.May 31, 2024 Texas National Guard soldiers were welcomed Governor Abbott during their move to the base camp in Eagle Pass.September 23, 2024Greg Abbott announces signed a Proclamation designating Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuela gang as a foreign terrorist threat and announced a statewide effort to target the group, along with a reward for information leading to arrests.February 21, 2026Texas Facilities Commission announce Texas Border Infrastructure Program Concludes with last wall panel installed completing the 82.2-mile-long permanent barrier.
Reactions Public As of June 2023, polling from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin indicated that 59% of Texans backed the increased law enforcement deployments and border spending.
The mission faced public criticism, including from state officials, following reports of pay delays, poor working and living conditions, a lack of proper equipment and facilities, and multiple suicides and suicide attempts among service members. According to reporting in the Army Times, soldiers were being housed in what it describes as cramped quarters, in converted recreational vehicles and semi-truck trailers, and also faced shortages in cold weather uniforms, medical equipment, and portable toilets. According to the Houston Chronicle, this was further compounded when it coincided with state cuts in educational benefits for service members to address budget shortfalls, reducing available tuition assistance by more than half. Some Texas Air National Guard members deployed in support of OLS have also criticized the operation's planning and execution, with nearly 30% of 250 participants in a 2022 Air National Guard survey reporting frustration with the operation's length, haste, and involuntary nature.
On January 13, 2022, a state district court judge in Travis County, Texas, granted Jesús Alberto Guzmán Curipoma, of Ecuador, a writ of habeas corpus, ruling that the state program violated the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution. On February 25, 2022, the state Third Court of Appeals in Austin affirmed the decision of the lower court.State of Texas v. Curipoma , No. 03-22-00032CR (Tex. App.--Austin, February 25, 2022) (Retrieved March 23, 2025). On June 26, 2024, the Court of Criminal Appeals vacated the Third Court of Appeals decision and remanded the case for reconsideration.https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=715a43ed-923b-4547-a0e5-0d8f3531fde8&coa=coscca&DT=OPINION&MediaID=7b3ca602-0e59-4332-bfb9-21f9e20403e7
Republican Party officials in multiple states and in federal positions supported Texas' efforts and criticized opposition from the Biden administration.
More than 100 sheriffs in Texas have publicly backed OLS.
Many people support OLS, as of February 10, 2025 there has been an estimated amount of 56 million dollars donated to fund, the border wall, border transportation, and border security. This funding is from donations from Americans all over not only in Texas.
Department of Justice investigation and lawsuits
Civil rights investigation In July 2022, the Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation of OLS. According to a Texas Department of Public Safety email obtained by the Texas Tribune, the investigation is focused on reviewing whether OLS violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin by programs that receive federal funds.
Federal lawsuits