Abbott's Operation Lone Star Nabs Illegal Immigrant on Terror Watchlist at Eagle Pass
On February 21, the Texas Department of Public Safety, under Operation Lone Star, arrested Colombian national Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya for crossing into the United States illegally.
Texas DPS turned Yepez-Bedoya over to the Border Patrol, which screened him and found him to be a “positive match” with the terror watch list. A Border Patrol memo shared with the New York Post says he was flagged as a “group member,” but it did not provide further detail about what group he may belong to.
Had it not been for Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which uses the National Guard and state police officers to secure the border, Yepez-Bedoya could have become one of the millions of “gotaways” inside the United States.
Yepez-Bedoya adds to a vast increase in suspected terrorists caught at our borders under the leadership of President Joe Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. So far, in FY 2024, 59 people on the terror watchlist have been encountered along the northern and southern border between ports of entry. An additional 111 have been caught at ports of entry. This is at a time of hugely heightened terror threats with open calls to attack the United States.
The arrest of Yepez-Bedoya proves Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star is working. Last month, a team from FAIR visited Eagle Pass and saw how Abbott has effectively reduced illegal crossings in the area.
Just days after Yepez-Bedoya’s arrest, President Biden visited Brownsville, Texas, another place where Governor Abbott’s policies have helped drive away illegal crossers. The governor signed SB 4 into law, which would allow Texas law enforcement agencies to arrest and jail illegal immigrants and would give state judges the power to order deportations.
The Biden administration filed a lawsuit seeking to block the implementation of SB 4. On February 29, a federal judge in Austin blocked the implementation of SB 4 in response to the lawsuit brought by the Biden administration. The state appealed that ruling. On March 3, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay of the lower court’s order. On March 5, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary stay until March 13 while considering whether it will allow the state to enforce SB 4.
While in Texas, President Biden saw how illegal immigration could be controlled, but he didn’t acknowledge his role in the border crisis or take executive action to end it. As long as Biden and Mayorkas refuse to enforce existing laws and policies, people like Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya and Laken Riley’s alleged killer, Jose Ibarra, will continue to flock to our borders.