Texas sees 51% drop in border apprehensions after Operation Lone Star expands

Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal border crossers in Texas dropped 51% in one year, according to federal data. The stark decline comes after Gov. Greg Abbott expanded Operation Lone Star border security efforts in the state.

In fiscal 2023, Border Patrol agents reported 1,045,655 apprehensions of illegal border crossers in five U.S. Customs and Border Protection sectors in Texas, excluding those apprehended in New Mexico which fall into one of these sectors, in fiscal 2023. In fiscal 2024, the number dropped to 534,333, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data and exclusive data obtained by The Center Square.

The totals are also slightly higher than what The Center Square first reported last month.

The data is from the CBP sectors of Big Bend, El Paso, Del Rio, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley. El Paso’s sector includes two west Texas counties and all of New Mexico; Big Bend’s includes 77 counties and all of Oklahoma.

It excludes Office of Field Operations data from ports of entry and gotaway data. Gotaways are those who illegally enter and evade capture. CBP doesn’t publicly report this data. The Center Square first began reporting it in 2021 after receiving it from a Border Patrol agent.

In fiscal 2023, nearly 450,000 gotaways and more than 1.48 million apprehensions were reported in CBP sectors in Texas, surpassing 1.9 million, The Center Square exclusively reported. Fiscal 2024 gotaway data is forthcoming.

Since then, The Center Square obtained a breakdown of apprehensions in New Mexico in the El Paso Sector of 170,846 in fiscal 2023 and 137,002 in fiscal 2024.

When comparing Border Patrol data alone, there were 511,322 fewer apprehensions in Texas year over year, representing a 51% drop.

The drop occurred after Abbott in January 2023 hired Texas’ first border czar, a retired Border Patrol supervisor, Mike Banks, who implemented a “PDI strategy” (position, deter and interdict), The Center Square first reported. Within one year, Texas resistance grew and illegal entries increased in New Mexico, Arizona and California, The Center Square first reported.

By CBP sector, the El Paso Sector reported the greatest number of Border Patrol apprehensions in fiscal 2024 of 256,102, with more than half reported in New Mexico.

The sector shares 268 international border miles with Mexico and spans 125,500 square miles, with nearly all, 121,000 square miles, in New Mexico.

As illegal entries skyrocketed in New Mexico, its Democratic governor refused to work with Abbott and 25 governors sending resources in support of OLS. Last year, Texas for the first time built border barriers along its shared state line with New Mexico, The Center Square first reported. Illegal entries in New Mexico surged to the point that Republican state lawmakers came to Texas to learn how they could replicate OLS efforts, The Center Square first reported.

In fiscal 2024, the El Paso Sector reported the third most Border Patrol apprehensions, fueled by New Mexico, behind the Tucson and San Diego sectors. Border Patrol agents in Arizona, California and New Mexico apprehended a combined total of nearly 1 million illegal border crossers (996,910, excluding gotaways), nearly double the number of those in Texas, according to the data.

In all sectors, the greatest number of apprehensions were of single adults.

Border Patrol agents reported the next greatest number of apprehensions in the Del Rio Sector of 244,105, according to CBP data. The sector shares 245 international land and nautical miles with Mexico, including the Rio Grande River and Lake Amistad. It also extends 300 miles into Texas, spanning more than 55,000 square miles across 47 counties.

The sector remains at the center of ongoing lawsuits between Texas and the Biden-Harris administration. Two are before the Fifth Circuit related to Texas’ concertina wire fences and marine barriers in Eagle Pass.

The Rio Grande Valley Sector was also a hotspot for illegal border crossings until OLS expanded operations, also with the support of 25 governors. Florida was among the first, with its troops and officers interrupting smuggling operations, The Center Square reported.

The sector reported 135,009 illegal border crossers in fiscal 2024, a significant drop from previous years. Its agents are responsible for patrolling 320 river miles, 250 coastal miles and 19 counties stretching over 17,000 square miles.

The Laredo Sector reported the next greatest number of 31,108 Border Patrol apprehensions. The sector shares 136 border miles with Mexico, including along the Rio Grande River, and stretches north and northeast to the Oklahoma and Arkansas state lines.

It’s also been the focus of lawsuits between Texas and the Biden-Harris administration, including over wall construction and a wildflower, which Texas won earlier this year.

The Big Bend Sector reported the least apprehensions in Texas of 4,921. The sector is geographically the largest, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the entire U.S.-Mexico border. It’s also the least staffed. Its Border Patrol agents are responsible for patrolling 517 river miles and 165,000 square miles in 77 Texas counties and all of Oklahoma.

In this sector, Terrell County was among the first of 60 Texas counties to declare an invasion; its judge left the Democratic Party, blaming the Biden-Harris administration for creating an unprecedented border crisis, The Center Square first reported.