Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers have assisted in the arrest more than 3,000 undocumented immigrants in the state this year, according to public records obtained by The Texas Tribune The records provide details of how state police are shifting their focus from the border toward aiding the mass deportation efforts by the Trump administration.
Beginning in late January through early September, The Texas Tribune reported that DPS recorded 3,131 previously unreported arrests connected to specialty teams created at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott to help with the crackdown, with about 88 percent of those arrested picked up on suspicion of violating federal immigration laws nnrl marking an unprecedented use of state resources for a role that has been exclusive to federal authorities.
According to DPS spokesperson Sheridan Nolen, “Operation Lone Star 2.0 is underway statewide — with DPS personnel working to combat and interdict criminal activity with a nexus to the border.”
As illegal border crossings are reported to be in decline, DPS has moved some of its troopers and investigators onto “strike teams” that work with federal agencies across Texas — including in each of the largest metro areas, said the agency.
The federal government has sole authority to enforce immigration violations under federal law, which means that state and local police can’t arrest a person for being undocumented without agreements giving them limited power to do so. But Nolan notedthat DPS officers have jurisdiction in Texas to protect and serve every comer of the state, though probable cause is needed to apprehend someone.
In 2023, Senate Bill 4 (SB4), was passed, making it a crime to cross the border illegally allowing Texas law enforcement to arrest alleged offenders and giving local judges authority to order removals. While SB4 was legally challenged, the Supreme Court ultimately allowed the state to implement the law.
Texas DPS has a working agreement with Homeland Security and ICE to arrest undocumented immigrants and giving Texas state law enforcement limited power to enforce federal immigration law in specific situations. Some Texas law enforcement agencies use the 287(g) program to deputize state and local officers to enforce federal immigration laws. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton signed an agreement to join the program this past February. .
Nolan declined to offer details about how the state strike teams function, how they decide on targets or where people who are arrested are located, citing the policy of not disclosing operational specifics.
As of mid-August, Nolan said DPS had identified nearly 6,500 criminal illegal immigrants with active felony warrants in Texas for a variety of offenses, including murder, drug and sex crimes, and human smuggling. Officers from all DPS divisions arrested roughly 30,000 people from the start of the year through July, with many of the immigration arrests occurred hundreds of miles from the border and many in Austin, Dallas or Houston.
The regional tactical strike teams mark the latest plunge into immigration enforcement for Texas’ main public safety agency, who not only issue traffic violations, but also driver’s licenses among other regulatory duties, and often takes the lead on major criminal probes.
DPS had already ramped up its presence at the Texas-Mexico border over the last decade, with an escalating presence the last four years as a part of the Operation Lone Star program. At the time, DPS was not making federal immigration arrests, but arresting thousands for trespassing on private property, a state offense, and other misdemeanor arrest carrying a maximum penalty of one year in jail.
The Texas Legislature earmarked another $3.4 billion for border security during their recent regular session, with roughly onethird earmarked for DPS immigration enforcement in the state’s interior. A new Texas law will require most sheriffs in the state to enter an agreement with ICE, with 11 percent already signing agreements to extend the authority of deputies to inquire about legal status during routine stops. Texas currently has about 2.1 million undocumented illegals, second only to California.