Texas state trooper boat patrol struggles with border surge: 35,385 stopped since March

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MCALLEN, Texas — State troopers on boat patrol along the Rio Grande River that separates the United States from Mexico have stopped tens of thousands of noncitizens from illegally crossing as part of the governor’s operation to secure the border, the Washington Examiner has learned.

Since Gov. Greg Abbott’s implementation of Operation Lone Star on March 4, Texas Department of Public Safety officers from the Highway Patrol’s tactical marine units have intercepted 35,385 people and turned them over to the Border Patrol, according to Lt. Christopher Olivarez, who said the figures were as of May 27.

“This 35,000-plus is historic for us because we’ve never had that much personal contact with migrants coming across,” Olivarez told the Washington Examiner. The migrant referrals were all in the Rio Grande Valley region of southeastern Texas, as well as several hundred miles upstream near Del Rio and Eagle Pass.

Texas State Police officers cannot take someone into custody for an immigration offense, as only federal agents from select agencies, including the Border Patrol, have the authority to do that. But the DPS officers can enforce state laws, including human trafficking and maritime laws, and generally stop all the migrants they can. For example, if smugglers put eight migrants on a raft suited for far fewer people, that gives the officers reason to intervene because the raft is in violation of the Texas Water Safety Act. DPS can hold the group until Border Patrol agents arrive.

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Operation Lone Star was initially launched in the region and then expanded to other parts of the state in early March as illegal immigration figures continued rising. Because the deployment is at the governor’s order, the department is tracking the number of migrants referred to the Border Patrol as a way of showing what officers are achieving, so there are no previous years’ numbers to compare these latest figures to.

Boats are assigned to different parts of the river and the Gulf of Mexico coastline. There is no normal shift for the officers. They will go wherever they are needed, taking into consideration intelligence reports from federal border authorities. They also head out at different times of the day and night.

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A Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Tactical Marine Unit boat travels east on the Rio Grande River near McAllen, a popular spot for migrants to attempt to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

Despite the huge number of encounters, a second DPS official who spoke with the Washington Examiner said it feels like they are hardly making a dent, considering how many migrants get past them.

“To be honest with you, it’s making a small dent,” the official said. “Let’s say we stop 2,000 people from crossing, you know. Like, you’ve got 6,000 that did.”

On the weekday afternoon that three DPS boats cruised up and down the Rio Grande River near McAllen, one officer pointed out the dozens of dirt trails that lead up on both sides of the riverbank.

“That’s the trails that they’re using,” Sgt. Lee Ashcraft said during the tour.”They’re so worn down there. They’re blatantly obvious that they’re using [them].”

But as quickly as new trails pop up and the troopers respond to emerging areas of human and drug smuggling, the gangs and cartels that make hundreds of millions per month will move on.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“It’s an ever-evolving dynamic. So we vary our times, vary our days, and try to do the best that we can to, you know, try to, you know, intercept stuff that is coming across,” Ashcroft said. “We have to adapt as they adapt.”

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