EAGLE PASS – An additional 10,000 agents will join border security efforts next year, U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan said in Eagle Pass on Sunday.
Gov. Greg Abbott joined four other Republican governors and federal officials in thanking Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers, stating they helped make the U.S.-Mexico border safer.
“This is the most secure border that we’ve ever seen in our entire history,” said Paul Perez, President of the National Border Patrol Council, the union that represents approximately 18,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents.
Abbott praised the soldiers and troopers assigned to Operation Lone Star, which, according to a news release from Abbott’s office, has helped decrease illegal border crossings by 92%.
“Thank you, each and every one of you, for everything you’ve done,” Abbott said.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin thanked members of Operation Lone Star for seizing fentanyl, which he credited with saving lives in his home state.
“Three years ago, Virginia was losing five people a day to fentanyl. Today it’s two. It should be zero,” Youngkin said. “That’s because of all of you stopping the flow of fentanyl into America.”
Abbott and Youngkin were joined by the republican governors of Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee, each expressing their state’s gratitude for the troopers and soldiers.
Homan said, although the border has become safer than ever before, border apprehensions are projected to increase in 2026.
“We’re bringing 10,000 more agents on,” U.S. Border Czar Homan said. “If you think the numbers are good this year, wait ‘til next year because you ain’t seen s---.”
Read also: