Texas DPS Goes on Offense, Operation Turns Troopers into Cartel Hunters [WATCH]

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers are continuing an expanded law enforcement role along and beyond the U.S.–Mexico border as part of Operation Lone Star 2.0, a state-led security initiative that has coincided with a sharp decline in illegal border crossings during the first full year of border policy changes under President Donald Trump.

Rather than limiting their duties to traffic enforcement and roadway safety, DPS troopers are engaged in a broad range of border and interior operations that include human smuggling interdiction, tracking illegal border crossers through remote ranchlands, and assisting federal agencies with investigations into foreign gang and terrorist activity.

State and federal officials say the combined efforts of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s continued border initiative and the Trump administration’s enforcement posture have reduced crossings to levels not seen in decades.

Operation Lone Star 2.0 builds on Abbott’s original Operation Lone Star, which began in 2021, and keeps Texas law enforcement actively involved in border security even as federal policies have shifted.

Under the updated approach, DPS personnel focus on activities ranging from stopping human smuggling on state highways to mounted patrols across private farms and ranches in border counties.

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Troopers are also involved in investigations targeting suspected terrorists and foreign gang members operating within Texas.

According to unofficial Border Patrol data cited by a source within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, approximately 6,400 illegal aliens were apprehended crossing the southwest border in December.

That figure represents a significant drop compared with nearly 50,000 apprehensions during the same month the previous year and close to 250,000 in December 2023, when the border crisis reached record levels.

While Border Patrol agents have been reassigned in part to large-scale deportation operations in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, and New Orleans, Texas DPS troopers have increased their presence along the border itself.

Troopers patrol on foot, by all-terrain vehicle, and on horseback in some of the most remote and rugged areas of the Texas–Mexico border region.

These efforts are supported by K-9 units, manned aircraft, and drone technology.

DPS troopers assigned to rural highways continue to focus on identifying human smugglers who use commercial vehicles to transport illegal aliens away from the border.

Although both crossings and smuggling attempts have declined since January, state officials say the expanded enforcement posture has made smuggling operations more difficult for cartels and criminal networks.

Illegal aliens attempting to bypass Border Patrol checkpoints by moving through farms and ranches now face additional obstacles, including mounted DPS patrols and tracking teams operating well beyond traditional border zones.

These tactics have contributed to a steep decline in arrests in areas that were once overwhelmed by illegal crossings.

The DPS Border Mounted Patrol made its first arrests of the year on a rural ranch in Maverick County on Thursday.

Troopers tracked two illegal aliens for approximately 10 miles before apprehending them with the assistance of a tracking K-9.

Texas DPS Border Mounted Patrol and Tracking K-9 make first apprehension of 2026.

Working alongside U.S. Border Patrol in Maverick County, @TxDPS Troopers apprehended two illegal immigrants from Mexico who were attempting to avoid detection. DPS Tracking K-9 Bona led the way,… pic.twitter.com/UKHGtrWxpL

— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) January 1, 2026

Maverick County, which recorded nearly 5,000 apprehensions per day during the height of the border crisis in 2023, now sees only a small number of arrests.

Operation Lone Star 2.0 enforcement activities extend far inland as well. DPS troopers work alongside the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Homeland Security Investigations on cases involving stash houses, organized crime, and suspected terrorist networks.

In November, DPS Highway Patrol troopers and investigators participated in a joint task force operation that led to the arrest of 51 confirmed members of the Tren de Aragua gang at an illegally operated nightclub in San Antonio.

The arrests followed the execution of a search warrant developed through cooperation between state and federal agencies.

Later in November, DPS troopers and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Mohammad Dawoode Alokozay, an Afghan national who entered the United States under President Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome resettlement program.

Authorities said Alokozay made online terrorist threats and posted a video to TikTok appearing to show him constructing an explosive device while threatening to detonate it at a building in Fort Worth.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lieutenant Chris Olivarez commented on that arrest and the broader interagency effort, 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.”

State officials say the continuation of Operation Lone Star 2.0 reflects Texas’s decision to remain actively involved in border security as part of what the Trump administration has described as a whole-of-government approach.

The combined efforts of state, local, and federal agencies have reshaped enforcement along the Texas–Mexico border and significantly reduced illegal crossings compared with levels seen during the height of the previous administration’s border crisis.