Officers say the purpose of these operations is to put an end to criminal acts across the border, resulting in several arrests.
DPS officers work under Operation Lonestar. The initiative extends from El Paso to the Rio Grande Valley.
“And just with this operation alone, we have referred over 150,000 illegal immigrants that enter our country through the Texas borders. Those get referred to U.S. Border Patrol,” said Sargent Erick Estrada.
This fiscal year DPS reported over 800 vehicle pursuits and over 8,000 criminal arrests.
“And this includes drug trafficking, human smuggling, human trafficking, any kind of criminal act that is done near our Texas borders. These are the arrests that we have done,” added Estrada.
The Constables office for Precinct 1 works under Operation Stone Garden. It’s purpose is also to avoid the entry of illegal substances and undocumented migrants.
“We do have a lot of crossings all over town, every hour on the hour. People are trying to cross into our country illegally,” said Deputy Mario Reyes.
Deputies also investigate stash houses. Officers say they understand the position migrants are in but at the same time they are trying to keep border communities safe.
“It’s not that we don’t want them to cross into the United States. It’s that it needs to be done in a organized manor, a proper manor. A lot of these people coming into our country are coming from third-world countries that don’t have any kind of system set for vaccinations,” added Reyes.
Officers say human smugglers are putting not only the lives of migrants in danger, but the community as well.
If you know of any suspicious activity, you are asked to report it to your local law enforcement agency.
