Federal authorities just pulled the curtain back on Operation Southern Surge, a coordinated strike along the Texas-Mexico border that should leave no doubt about the scale of the criminal enterprise pouring poison and weapons into our state. Since October 19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas have arrested 89 suspects and seized more than 1,600 pounds of narcotics, 15 firearms, over 3,000 rounds of ammunition, and more than $360,000 in illicit cash.
At the Hidalgo Port of Entry, officers found 1,082 pounds of methamphetamine stuffed inside a shipment of leeks, a haul worth nearly a million dollars on the street. At the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, they pulled nearly 50 pounds of cocaine from a vehicle after technology flagged an anomaly. These are not random busts. They are proof that sophisticated networks continue to treat the border as an open pipeline for drugs and guns.
This operation shows exactly why Texas cannot afford to ease up for one second. Every pound of meth and every firearm seized is a weapon that never reached a Texas street, a schoolyard, or a family driveway. But seizures alone do not end the invasion. The cartels adapt. They test new routes, new concealment methods, and new personnel every single day. The moment pressure drops and we open the border, the flow will resume. We have seen this cycle before. Softening enforcement, cutting agents, or pretending the crisis is over only invites more death and disorder into our communities.
Texans deserve stronger defenses, not lectures about root causes or globalist multicultural experiments. We need sustained pressure both at the border and inside America’s interior. The narcoterrorists responsible will take any opening we give them.
Strong Borders has been clear from the start. Our priorities put Texans first. We push policies that enforce the law, deport those who enter illegally, cut off the incentives that draw more illegal traffic, and hold Washington accountable when it refuses to do its job. When federal task forces score wins like Operation Southern Surge, they prove the value of relentless enforcement and the undeniable danger of Open Border policies. When those same agencies face political headwinds or resource cuts, Texas families will be the ones who pay the price.
The drugs and weapons seized in Laredo and Hidalgo are only a fraction of what got caught. The rest is still coming. Texas cannot afford complacency. With the Democrats winning the 2026 midterm elections, border security is now in serious jeopardy.