1 year later Texas' “Border Emperor”,mike banks The state has been very successful in deterring illegal immigration, saying cartel activity has been pushed to Democratic-led Western states that have not adopted tactics similar to Texas..

Banks spoke in an exclusive interview with The Center Square after marking his one-year anniversary on January 30th. Gov. Greg Abbott selected Banks for the role less than 24 hours after he retired from the U.S. Border Patrol. oversee and strengthen border security efforts already in place through Abbott's border patrol mission “Operation Lone Star''.

Abbott created the state's “border czar” role after President Joe Biden declared Vice President Kamala Harris “border czar” and said she would oversee border security operations. Harris is away from the border and denies there is even a crisis. Mr Abbott claimed that Mr Banks had accomplished more in one day than Mr Harris had done in the years he held the title.

Abbott argues that Banks' 23 years of experience serving as Border Patrol agent in three states and Washington, D.C. under four presidents made him the “perfect choice” to be Texas' first border czar. He has “seen firsthand the struggles of ranchers and communities caused by open borders,” Abbott said. Said That was when Banks was announced as Border Emperor last year. “He understands the dangerous influence Mexican cartels have on our country.”

Looking back on last year, he told Center Square: I think I accomplished more than I ever thought I could accomplish. ”

Texas, which shares a 1,254-mile long border with Mexico, has historically had the highest number of illegal border crossers.

It's been a year since Mr. Banks began leading OLS operations and a year since he began helping lead the Texas Military Department's efforts to stop illegal immigration, he said, compared to a year ago. Texas accounts for 30% of these intersections. The remaining 70% crosses Arizona, California, and New Mexico. why? Because they don't have the same resistance as Texas. ”

“As a young Border Patrol agent, I was taught to always take the path of least resistance when looking for illegal border crossings, and you'll be successful,” he explained. “Texas created that path, the greatest resistance.

“When you hear the naysayers say cars are just circling us, it's true. To the naysayers, I can tell you, they're not just circling us, they're circling me. This means that they are constantly circling around us. They plan to go to Arizona, California and New Mexico.”

The bank reiterated that: point Abbott made the remarks Sunday at a press event at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Texas National Guard has taken over the park, which is just one area of ​​Texas land between closed ports of entry.

“Once Texas gains control of an area, we intend to maintain and expand that area,” Banks said. We acquire, retain and expand. We're going to shut down illegal entry into Texas.”

He said mexican cartel coyote Illegal entry directly from Mexico to Texas. “No one crosses the border illegally without paying a fine to the cartel,” he said.

The Gulf Cartel restricts entry from Mexico in the Rio Grande Valley, and Center Plaza was previously report. Los Zetas and Cartel del Norest control access to nine Texas counties from Star to Val Verde, via the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila. In certain areas of the United States and Mexico, cartels vie for control of smuggling routes. The Sinaloa Cartel controls much of the southern border from California to Brewster County in west Texas.

last year, texas state legislature Designated Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations After Abbott's Executive Order.

“The cartels control everything,” Banks said. “They are confining migrants in warehouses and hiding places until they gather in large numbers, and then forcing them to go through one place at a time, overwhelming Border Patrol resources,” he said. He explained this, referring to a cartel tactic called “saturation.” Tucson Border Patrol Chief John Modlin also said: explained.

When Border Patrol agents are taken out of action and “large swaths of the border are left wide open,” Banks said, “that's where cartels can push through with powerful drugs and high-value targets… We're denying them that.”

Part of the defense Banks helped organize is identifying where high traffic is being directed by cartels, building barriers to cut it off, and working with DPS to stop it.

“We're going to take a so-called PDI position of locating, interdicting and interdicting wherever there's heavy traffic. We're going to do everything we can to prevent them from crossing. And , If they cross and intend to stop us, we will arrest them and then charge them with either trespassing or violating state law, and they will serve time in prison.”

““There are consequences for entering Texas illegally,” he said, which is why cartels are redirecting their efforts to far-flung states like Arizona, California and New Mexico..