EXCLUSIVE: 5-year anniversary of Operation Lone Star, nearly 540,000 apprehended

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Texas’ border security mission, Operation Lone Star, reached a milestone in March, its five-year anniversary.

Gov. Greg Abbott first launched OLS in March 2021, in response to an unprecedented number of illegal border crossers and crime within the first couple of months of the Biden administration.

From March 2021 through February 2026, OLS officers apprehended 538,141 illegal foreign nationals, including those referred to Border Patrol. They’ve also deterred 157,112 illegal entries, according to OLS data obtained by The Center Square.

OLS officers have pursued 5,135 bailouts – when illegal border crossers engage in high-speed chases and jump out of the vehicle to evade capture.

OLS officers have made 63,659 criminal arrests and 12,392 criminal trespass arrests. These include arrests of U.S. citizens and illegal border crossers.

Human smuggling arrests total 10,552 with 23,717 human smuggling charges reported.

Total felony charges were 51,091 with 11,950 federal or other charges, according to the data. One arrest may involve multiple felony charges.

The data is from Texas DPS, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and Texas Military Department and includes DPS assisting other agencies during an arrest.

Although illegal crossings have dropped by more than 95% under the second Trump administration, crime is ongoing and cartel networks are embedded throughout Texas and nationwide. OLS 2.0 is targeting them and criminal actors designated as foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua. As TdA crime spread to dozens of states, in September 2024, Abbott expanded OLS operations to eradicate TdA, The Center Square reported.

Since OLS began, more than half a million Venezuelan nationals have been apprehended by Border Patrol agents in Texas after they illegally entered the U.S.

From Jan. 1, 2021, through Jan. 31, 2026, OLS officers apprehended 4,198 Venezuelans for crimes committed in Texas with a total of more than 7,200 charges.

As of Jan. 8, 2026, there are 555 wanted Venezuelans illegally in the U.S. with active warrants issued by Texas law enforcement agencies, according to the data.

As of Feb. 27, 2026, there are 173 individual TdA members documented in Texas’ gang database.

DPS is making between 80 to 100 criminal arrests along the Texas-Mexico border every week, “as the criminal element crossing the border remains,” DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez told The Center Square. This total excludes arrests being made through a multiagency OLS Task Force operating in dozens of counties.

OLS officers are also targeting South American Theft Groups and commercial vehicle crimes statewide. Last September, Texas DPS began suspending issuing CDL licenses in several categories; targeted CDL enforcement actions are ongoing.

OLS brush teams are still actively patrolling the border region. OLS officers have found 668 stash houses and recovered and referred 8,721 people from them, according to the data.

“OLS is more critical now than ever because we face more threats than we’ve ever faced before especially from Special Interest Aliens and suspected terrorists who are still coming across the border,” Olivarez said. DPS troopers recently arrested an SIA from Pakistan in Starr County. They’ve arrested SIAs from Afghanistan, Egypt, the Congo, Mali, Syria, Turkey, Iran and other countries designated as having a nexus to terrorism.

OLS operations continue to focus on disrupting transnational criminal activity through interior enforcement, including working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal, state and local partners. This is expected to take many years because “so many millions of people were released into the country during the previous administration,” he said. The Trump administration has identified more than 18,000 suspected terrorists as well as more than 700 Iranians who illegally entered and were released into the country by the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.

“Moving forward, our goal is to identify those potential threats and get them removed,” Olivarez said. Texas’ newly developed Homeland Security Division “is focused on counterterrorism with some of our intelligence services. Ongoing threats go beyond just people crossing the border illegally. What’s concerning right now is where are those threats? Where can we locate those individuals? We’re seeing some of these tragedies play out because of those that were released into the country,” he said.

Earlier this month, a Fort Bend County Sheriff’s deputy was killed by a Salvadoran man in the country illegally. Deputy Kenneth Lewis was leaving a second job and pulled over to help stranded motorists on the Katy Freeway when he was hit. The Salvadoran fled the scene and was ultimately tracked down by authorities in Houston. He was arrested and charged with multiple felonies and remains in custody.

On Monday, Sheriff Eric Fagan gave an update on the case, stating “Deputy Lewis represents all of us, something any officer would do when you see someone who needed help. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, his life.”