A handful of governmental and law enforcement officials from West Texas are scheduled to hear a Texas Department of Public Safety security brief on Operation Lone Star and survey the border by helicopter Tuesday in Del Rio.
Congressman August Pfluger (R-San Angelo), State Reps. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) and Andrew Murr (R-Junction), Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis and Midland County Sheriff David Criner will all attend.
Landgraf, who voted to fund Operation Lone Star during this year’s Texas Legislature session, said border security is a top priority for him. The security briefing will start at 10:15 a.m. and then the group will survey the border by helicopter.
“It means a lot to me because this is an extremely important issue,” Landgraf said. “Border security is an absolute priority for me. It’s very important for the people I serve in West Texas and people throughout the state.”
Griffis said it’s a humbling experience to be invited to his visit in Del Rio and said he has kept in contact with Pfluger about the problems that his agency is experiencing. Griffis said the main two problems are human trafficking and drugs with the most concerning being fentanyl.
“I’ve been in pretty close contact with Congressman Pfluger since he took office,” Griffis said. “He is very concerned with what is going on in this country and in his district. We talk pretty often. It’s not everyday, but it’s every couple of weeks. We have conversations through text messages, phone calls or through one of his staff members about our issues. I think he’s doing a fantastic job.”
Pfluger said he keeps in contact with Griffis and the 28 other county sheriffs in his district.
The impact of fentanyl, Pfluger said, is it’s dangerous to society, dangerous to kids and dangerous to law and order.
“It’s tragic to think that it’s is coming in almost at will,” Pfluger said about fentanyl. “We are going to have over 2.2 million illegal immigrants come in and they are carrying fentanyl with them every single day.”
A news release from the Office of the Texas Governor details that Operation Lone Star is set to combat the smuggling of people and drugs into Texas. Operation Lone Star will integrate DPS with the Texas National Guard and deploys air, ground, water and tactical border security assets to high threat areas to deny Mexican Cartels and other smugglers the ability to move drugs and people into Texas.
Landgraf said nearly $3 billion was dedicated to Operation Lone Star. He also explained that it’s important to experience the obstacles seen by law enforcement at the border first hand.
“The State of Texas has made a $3 billion investment in border security efforts and I’m very proud to play a lead role in advocating for that funding this year during the legislative session,” Landgraf said. “… We have to step up and make sure our state and our communities are protected from drug smuggling, from human trafficking and all the problems that are associated with a porous border.
“It’s important that we keep an eye on that investment and there’s no substitute for actually going down to the border to personally interact with the national guardsmen and state troopers, but also our border patrol and local law enforcement, because we all have to work on this together. This is a tremendous opportunity.”
Pfluger applauds the efforts of Landgraf and Murr about funding border security.
“(Landgraf and Murr) are two rising star examples, they are veterans in the Texas Legislature,” Pfluger said. “They got a tremendous amount of work done and that work was incredibly important but none of it’s more important than what they have done to secure our border.”
