EAGLE PASS, Texas – Last week, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced that it was working on Operation Lone Star, the state’s mission to secure the southern border and deter, detect and deter criminal activity between ports of entry. Troops arrested two large groups of illegal immigrants. , many coming from countries of special interest and attempting to enter the United States illegally.
On the morning of September 30th, DPS officers working in Eagle Pass encountered a group of 230 illegal immigrants. They included 27 people from countries of particular interest, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt and India. Because these 27 individuals were attempting to avoid legal immigration to avoid detection and were from countries with significant terrorist activity, all were turned over to the federal government for processing and further testing.
“It is precisely this type of activity, the attempted illegal crossing between ports of entry by people from areas that are hotspots for terrorist activity, that clearly highlights the concerns of Governor Abbott and the state of Texas.” DPS Commissioner Stephen McCraw said. “These are not illegal immigrants seeking asylum. They are people trying to enter the United States undetected and potentially trying to harm us.”
In addition to the 27 illegal immigrants of special interest, DPS police also arrested 41 other illegal immigrants from the group on trespassing charges. These people were from Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Argentina, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. These 41 people were taken to the Valverde processing center.
The second incident occurred at approximately 7:30 a.m. on October 2, when DPS received a request for assistance from the Texas National Guard regarding a very large group of illegal immigrants in the Hopedale area, located approximately 6 miles north of Eagle Pass. It occurred in Upon arrival, officers arrested a total of 135 illegal immigrants. The group consisted of families and single adults from countries of special interest, including 13 from Turkey and one from China.
It is also worth noting that on September 21st, DPS arrested South African Umar Farouk Ashraf, among a group of 15 illegal immigrants who illegally entered Normandy. After being tested and imprisoned, the officers received an alert from the Terrorism Testing Center warning Ashraf as a subject with possible connections to known terrorists or terrorist suspects. He remains in state custody on trespassing charges.
Since Operation Lone Star began in early March 2021, there have been more than 47,450 criminal arrests, including more than 11,830 for trespassing. More than 41,070 felony charges were filed and the department seized more than 547 million lethal doses of fentanyl across the state. Additionally, over 521,780 illegal immigrants were arrested and referred. These numbers are valid until September 26th.
