CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — A video and a photo of 100 undocumented migrants packed into a tractor-trailer near Laredo, Texas shows the perilous conditions they’re willing to travel in to reach the United States.
The photo was sent to NewsNation’s Leland Vittert by an anonymous source.
The unventilated trailer, packed with men, women, and teens was spotted and stopped by Operation Lone Star in Texas, an initiative that Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez says is helping the Biden’s administration border issues.
“They were there at the right time,” said Olivarez who appeared on “On Balance” on Thursday. “This situation could have been a lot worse if these individuals were moved further north. But again, just great work by our men and women being proactive and rescuing these illegal immigrants.”
Operation Lone Star was started by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in March. It utilizes the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to prevent migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Olivarez said that without groups like OLS, many of these illegal crossings from immigrants would go under the radar.
“That’s the whole objective without pushing Lone Star is to focus on the criminal elements, and to stem the flow of mass migration to target and to interdict human traffickers and drug traffickers as well as the weapons and currency that’s going south by the cartels,” said Olivarez. “So we are following the rule of law.”
Olivarez said the surge of illegal immigrants at the border is getting worse by the day. He said that since the crisis started back in January, when President Joe Biden ended former President Donald Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, more of the patrol officers were pulled from the field and they are now stuck working in processing centers and increased boat patrols.
“We’re seeing historic numbers that we’ve never seen before. And it’s always been historic and December has always been a month where we’ve seen a decrease in numbers, but not in this case. Of course, 2021 is a very unique year that we continue to see numbers escalate. That’s what we’re seeing. There are no signs of this, this crisis slowing down.”
However, the American Civil Liberties Union is taking the initiative to court. They argue it unfairly targets people of certain ethnicities.
Olivarez said he believes that the Biden administration does not want states like Texas to protect themselves.
“Every attempt that Governor Greg Abbott has tried to implement, whether it’s a declaration order or some type of executive order, there’s always pushback from the federal government, said Olivarez. He added: “So what does that tell you? That they want open borders, and right now, they’re not taking any action to safeguard Americans to safeguard our borders. And that’s why Texas has to continue to step in and take action.”
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced on the Donlon Report on Thursday that said construction on a permanent, state-funded border wall will begin “in a matter of days.”
