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TABC: Ports of entry collected about $700,000 during 2025 Paisano season; 2,646 containers disallowed
Summary
TABC officials reported that during the 2025 Paisano season the agency’s ports of entry collected roughly $700,000 in a 12-day period and disallowed thousands of containers; the special response team supported operations in El Paso and Laredo.
TABC officials told the commission that the agency’s 2025 Paisano ports-of-entry operation ran Jan. 1–12 and produced roughly $700,000 in revenue across 22 staffed ports, which the agency said represented about 11% of its annual tax revenue normally collected by ports.
John Rainey, chief of Ports of Entry, reported that Laredo posted two particularly strong days during the operation, collecting approximately $143,000 on each of the first Friday and Saturday of the year. “Our staff collected approximately 11% of our yearly tax rate of revenue during this short period,” Rainey said.
Rainey and Deputy Chief Nicole Langley described enforcement and public-safety results from the operation. The ports disallowed 2,646 containers or cigarette packages over the 12 days; the meeting record shows 59 containers were removed from minors, 670 containers were classified as illicit (for example, nonmanufacturer bottles or opened containers), and 91 cigarette packages were disallowed from minors.
Cash and credit amounts during the operation were split about 54% cash and 46% credit. Rainey said the agency’s longer-term goal is to increase credit use to 50% and that new credit-card readers expected in coming months should aid that effort.
Langley said the Enforcement Division’s Special Response Team (SRT) — a cadre of about 43 peace officers — supported the ports and that this was the first year SRT deployed to El Paso in addition to Laredo. Commissioners discussed expanding that SRT presence to Eagle Pass during planning for the next season.
Rainey said the Special Investigations Unit selected 31 suspect containers for laboratory analysis to identify illicit substances and that results were pending. A commissioner requested any lab results be routed to the commission, specifically to determine whether fentanyl was present in any seized containers; Rainey said any positive results would be provided.
The commission did not take regulatory action during the report, but staff indicated the agency will continue to plan and seek expansion of SRT deployment in future seasons and pursue technological upgrades for point-of-sale processing.
