Texas DPS reports steep drop in migrant crossings, large drug and weapons seizures under Operation Lone Star

Colonel Martin provided the Public Safety Commission a status update on Operation Lone Star and said the department has seen a substantial decline in large migrant group crossings while continuing criminal enforcement and large seizures.

"In 2024, we were at about 4,492 on Feb. 12. Yesterday, Feb. 12, 2025, we had 286," Colonel Martin said, describing a reduction he attributed to a range of state actions, including new state statutes, increased penalties, enforcement of state law along border corridors, and rewards for reporting stash houses. He said the drop allowed federal border patrol resources to shift from mass processing toward patrol duties.

Martin said Texas DPS still arrests 70 to 100 people per week on the border for criminal offenses and continues to interdict drugs, migrants in stash houses and firearms. He gave cumulative seizure figures for recent operations: 63 tons of methamphetamine, what he described as 6.24 million lethal doses of fentanyl, $72 million in currency, and about 13,000 firearms. He emphasized that the operations focus on criminal migrants, gangs, organized crime and national‑security threats rather than mass nonviolent asylum seekers.

The director said DPS analysts compiled a list of roughly 5,400 individuals who were in Texas jails while in the country unlawfully and who had felony warrants; DPS is sharing that list with federal partners including HSI, ICE ERO, U.S. Marshals, DEA, FBI and ATF to prioritize arrests.

"We're going after the violent, the worst of the worst," he said, adding the department is coordinating with federal partners in multiple Texas cities and expects technology and resource investments at ports of entry to aid future interdiction efforts.

Colonel Martin discussed emerging operational challenges: as large crossings fall, smugglers increasingly use smaller groups and more expensive, covert routes; that trend, he said, increases violent encounters and raises demand for aircraft, marine and brush teams. He also said federal action and surveillance technology such as proposed buoy barriers could further change enforcement patterns, and he reported ongoing interagency cooperation on those tools.

Commissioners asked about lessons learned from prior surge cycles; presenters said earlier experience positions the state to respond as the operational environment evolves. The commission did not take action at the meeting on Operation Lone Star.

Ending: Martin said Texas DPS will continue border and organized‑crime enforcement and maintain coordination with federal partners while monitoring legislative and federal policy developments.