Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers are no longer just writing tickets — they’re hunting cartel smugglers, tracking illegal border crossers through remote ranchlands, and helping federal agents dismantle foreign gang networks as part of Operation Lone Star 2.0. The combined Trump‑Abbott crackdown drove December apprehensions down to levels not seen in decades, collapsing the once‑record‑breaking surge that overwhelmed Texas during the Biden border crisis.
Despite the drastic change in immigration policies enacted by President Donald Trump since his inauguration, DPS troopers and special agents are still in the fight to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Together with federal authorities, they helped to bring border crossings to the lowest level in decades.
Under Operation Lone Star 2.0, an offshoot of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s sweeping Operation Lone Star border security operation commenced in 2021, the state’s top law enforcement agency now focus on an array of border security activities ranging from human smuggling interdiction on state highways to mounted patrol tracking on farms and ranches within remote ranches in border counties to law enforcement actions targeting suspected terrorists and foreign gang activity statewide.
Rather than return the troopers to the traditional role of strictly policing and enforcing traffic laws, commercial vehicle regulations, and responding to critical events on Texas roadways, Abbott doubled down on remaining actively engaged in border security.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the first full calendar year of Donald Trump’s border security posture and stricter enforcement policies has shown remarkable results. According to a source within Customs and Border Protection, unofficial Border Patrol reports reveal roughly 6,400 illegal aliens were apprehended crossing the southwest border in December. A paltry sum when compared to nearly 50,000 during the previous December and the nearly 250,000 a year earlier in December 2023.
Abbott’s continuation of Operation Lone Star in its current “2.0” iteration appears to be paying off as part of the Trump administration’s “whole of government” border security effort that relies heavily on contributions from a myriad of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies not traditionally involved in border security.
As Border Patrol agents move from the immediate border area to participate in massive deportation operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, and New Orleans, those remaining on routine patrols along the Texas-Mexico border are augmented by the cadre of Texas DPS troopers patrolling on foot, by ATV, and on horseback in some of the roughest, most remote terrain. Troopers bring K-9 units, manned aircraft, and advanced drone technology to augment those on patrol along the border.
Troopers deployed on rural highways remain focused on targeting human smugglers using commercial vehicles to move illegal aliens away from the border. Although the number of border crossings and human smuggling attempts has diminished since January, the gauntlet of enforcement activities the troopers are a part of makes the job of cartel smugglers even more difficult.
Illegal aliens attempting to skirt around Border Patrol highway checkpoints by traversing farms and ranches must not only avoid traditional Border Patrol tracking teams, but must also try to evade highway patrol troopers tracking them on horseback, all-terrain vehicles, and on foot.
The DPS Border Mounted Patrol made its first arrests for the new year on a rural ranch in Maverick County on Thursday. After tracking two illegal aliens for approximately 10 miles, the pair was apprehended with the assistance of a tracking K-9. The county that saw nearly 5,000 illegal alien apprehensions per day at the height of the border crisis in 2023 now produces a mere handful of illegal alien arrests.
Operation Lone Star 2.0 investigative and enforcement actions by the Department of Public Safety are conducted inland from the border as well. Complimenting efforts of the FBI, ICE, and Homeland Security Investigators, troopers are also targeting stash houses and participating in complex investigations targeting foreign gang activity and criminal terrorist networks.
In November, Texas DPS Highway Patrol troopers and investigators played a significant role in the development and execution of a joint task force search warrant that resulted in the arrest of 51 confirmed members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang at an illegally run San Antonio nightclub.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, in late November, an Afghan national admitted into the United States under President Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome resettlement program was arrested in a joint effort by the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force after making online terrorist threats. In a video posted to TikTok, the man appeared to be constructing an explosive device while threatening to blow up a building in Fort Worth.
Texas Department of Public Safety Lieutenant Chris Olivarez commented on the arrest of Mohammad Dawoode Alokozay and the collaboration with federal and local agencies, saying, “Our unified approach strengthens our response to domestic terrorism and threats to life as we work every day to protect our great state. We collaborate daily to monitor, identify, and arrest dangerous criminals who threaten our communities.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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