Texas Department of Public Safety brush teams working ranches near the border apprehended 83 migrants in the Del Rio border sector. Texas troopers and National Guard soldiers routinely patrol the ranches near the border under Operation Lone Star.
A DPS brush team working on private ranches near Eagle Pass, Texas, arrested 25 migrants, according to a tweet from Texas DPS spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez. The brush teams patrol the ranches to arrest migrants who are trespassing on private property and committing other crimes such as the destruction of private property.
Human smugglers routinely march migrants through these ranches as they move them into the U.S. interior without detection. They also use this tactic to circumvent Border Patrol highway immigration checkpoints.
Texas National Guard leaders previously told Breitbart Texas that as much as 33 percent of the migrants apprehended in the brush have criminal records. Many are referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution under federal re-entry laws while others face Texas courts for state crimes.
A few days earlier, Olivarez tweeted photos of a group of 52 migrants arrested by DPS troopers and National Guardsmen patrolling on ranches in Maverick County. The 52 migrants face prosecution in state courts for criminal trespass.
On Sunday, DPS troopers teamed up with Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents to apprehend six more migrants attempting to hide from apprehension.
In total, the troopers arrested or assisted in the arrests of 83 migrants attempting to avoid apprehension along the Texas-Mexico border.