Inside Operation Lone Star

<p>In the post-Trump era, some red states have moved aggressively to rebuke the Biden administration at the local level and signal to voters what a Republican-led country might look like.</p><p>In Texas, immigration is a key battleground. Today, we speak to Hunter Schuler, a member of the National Guards, about why Gov. Greg Abbott has sent him and thousands of other security officers to the U.S.-Mexico border.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/lulu-garcia-navarro">Lulu Garcia-Navarro</a>, a Times Opinion podcast host; and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/j-david-goodman">J. David Goodman</a>, the Houston bureau chief for The New York Times. </p><p>Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Operation Lone Star is an expensive and unusual effort to reinforce border security. But after a year,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/30/us/texas-border-abbott.html"> there is little to show for it</a>.</li><li>Soldiers sent to patrol the border have complained of<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/us/texas-national-guard-greg-abbott.html"> difficulties and a seemingly rudderless mission</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>