The Texas Military Department says it has completed several miles of barrier along the Rio Grande in South Texas. Crews have built six miles total in parts of five counties in South Texas.
Governor Greg Abbott ordered construction of a barrier in June, and the Texas Military Department says it increased the number of teams building fencing in October. The department says it is now building on six property owners' land.
"We have the agreements of residents of the State of Texas," says Lt. Col Dan Garrison. "Those land owners are really focused on the safety aspect of having a barrier in place. They would like that fence for the same reason you would put a fence around the pool in your back yard. It's to prevent people from accidentally stumbling into that pool."
Garrison says some property owners use heavy equipment for work or have construction projects on their land that would be unsafe for someone crossing. He also says some have miles of open space without any infrastructure.
"That's miles of places where people would not be able to get support: water, shelter, anything," he says. "The intent is to stop that crossing in areas where people could, potentially, get hurt."
Through Dec. 9, Texas DPS says Operation Lone Star had led to 9,089 criminal arrests, 2,347 arrests for criminal trespassing and more than 167,000 migrant apprehensions referrals for illegal crossings.
Over the past week, officials say they made 574 referrals and 161 "turnbacks."
"That's a big win for us," says Texas Military Department Major Michael Perry. "That's criminal activity that's not allowed in Texas, and that's what we're here for."
"We have not seen a significant change with the 'Remain in Mexico' policy,'" says DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez. "We still have large groups of families and unaccompanied children coming across. We still have single adults coming across."
Olivarez says the operation had led to the seizure of more than 13,000 pounds of marijuana, 2,000 pounds of cocaine, 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine, 37 pounds of heroin, 160 pounds of fentanyl and $7.4 billion in cash.
The ACLU and several other organizations have asked the Department of Justice to investigate Operation Lone Star. They want federal funding to be revoked for organizations that participate. Their complaint says the operation targets people based on their race.
Thursday, Olivarez said DPS had not yet received a formal complaint from the Department of Justice
Garrison, with the Texas Military Department, says the Texas National Guard increased the number of teams building fencing in October. He says some areas have a chain link fence topped with wire. Others have "crowd control wire" along the ground.
"Those obstacles are much faster to put in place," he says. "Really, the intent there is to slow down someone who looks to cross in an area. It becomes an obstacle that is not easy to get through."
In addition to the six miles of barrier that have been completed, the state has signed agreements for an additional 63 miles and is in negotiation for 198 miles more.