Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst announced a Texas-led three-week effort that he says reduced illegal immigration, smuggling, and human trafficking to a standstill in the Rio Grande River section of the U.S./Mexico border.
The Lt. Governor spoke with me in an interview for Breitbart News; he stated: “In the Rio Grande Valley sector, nearly nothing moved in those three weeks. We shut it down. We had teams of Texas law enforcement in the brush, high altitude aircraft, gun boats, and more," he explained. “Our intel revealed that the Gulf cartel was growing frustrated with our three-week effort.”
“The border issue is just about dollars and cents,” Dewhurst said. “This proves Texas can do the job the federal government has refused to do — to invest in the border and shut it down from illegal activities that are hurting Texans and other Americans.” He added: "Texas will protect our own citizens and other Americans from the criminal gangs that are destabilizing our state and our nation.”
The plan, according to Dewhurst, was to do a three-week operation with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) as the tip of the spear. He said the effort cost approximately $5 million each month. “We are fixing to appropriate more money,” he said. The Lt. Governor is seeking an additional $60 million to be approved by the State Legislative Budget Board.
Dewhurst stated, “We started appropriating money to plug the holes that exist in the border. We’ve allocated hundreds of millions, as a state, since 2008.” He added: “Nearly 796 million of state money, not a dime federal, has been allocated by the State of Texas to plug the holes in our border. This covers things like over-time for Sheriffs’ deputies, equipment, and Texas Rangers SWAT teams [referring to the elite Texas Rangers, an arm of the DPS].”
