Lone Star Mission: ICE arrests more than 4,000 in 10 days in Texas without incident
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement working with Texas law enforcement arrested more than 4,000 illegal foreign nationals in 10 days in Texas without incident.
The news comes as an ICE officer was indicted Friday on a charge of aggravated assault in Houston.
Through Lone Star Mission, five ICE-Enforcement and Removal Operations field office staff working with law enforcement partners arrested 4,170 foreign nationals illegally living in Texas. They had removal orders, criminal histories including murder, sexual assault, human smuggling, and multiple illegal entry and illegal reentry charges.
The operation took place statewide between Oct. 19 and 29. ICE ERO field offices involved are based in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso and Harlingen.
“When we have cooperation, we as a federal government, from the state, to the county, to the local law enforcement, we can go after the worst of the worst” illegal foreign nationals, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at an event in Dallas. “We can get them off our streets, our job is to protect the homeland.”
He also said the “Lone Star Mission has been an incredible success,” thanking Texas law enforcement and federal partners. Their efforts led to the arrest of “murderers, sexual assailants, drunk drivers, and alien smugglers. This operation shows exactly how important our state and local partnerships are for protecting American communities.”
Examples of violent offenders arrested include a Honduran national and fugitive in Houston wanted by Honduran officials for murder; a twice deported Mexican national in Liberty convicted of burglary and arrested on a capital murder charge; a Mexican national in Zapata County convicted of felony sexual assault and a Mexican national in El Paso convicted of human smuggling.
Lone Star Mission was conducted after more than 400 ICE 287(g) partnership agreements have been signed between Texas law enforcement agencies and ICE. More than 140 agreements are pending, according to ICE data as of Oct. 30.
The more than 4,000 arrests were made without incident or anyone being shot.
So far under the second Trump administration, there have been three federal immigration enforcement shootings in Texas and one high-profile vehicle incident. Two were in Houston.
On Friday, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced that an ICE officer had been indicted in Houston, accused of running over and injuring a Mexican national illegally in the country. The officer faces second-degree felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
“An ICE badge does not give you a free reign to injure, kill, or violate the constitutional rights of anyone,” Teare said at a press conference Friday morning. “My hope is this prosecution will do more than just seek justice” and “sends a loud and clear message to every ICE officer who feels they have a free pass to terrorize our streets.”
His office is also investigating the July ICE shooting in Houston of another Mexican national in the country illegally. DHS initially said he was shot while resisting arrest and weaponized his vehicle. Eyewitnesses disputed these claims. Federal and state investigations into the shooting are ongoing, The Center Square reported.
In Austin, an ICE shooting led to the injury of a Venezuelan national in the country illegally who resisted arrest, The Center Square reported. Last week, he was indicted on one count of assaulting, resisting, impeding and obstructing a federal officer. He also waived his appearance at an arraignment hearing. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty this week.
The Venezuelan was released into the country by the Biden administration through a phone app, which the Trump administration terminated. The app was determined illegal by Congress, which the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security cited as one reason for impeaching former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, The Center Square reported.
Under the Trump administration, more than one million foreign nationals face deportation who were released into the country through the app. The administration also negotiated for the Venezuelan government to pay for Venezuelan repatriation flights after more than one million Venezuelans illegally entered the country during the Biden administration.
In March 2025, a U.S. citizen was shot and killed by a Homeland Security Investigations special agent during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Cameron County. A grand jury declined charges against the special agent, The Center Square reported.
The incidents have occurred as assaults against ICE officers have increased by more than 1700% during the Trump administration compared to the Biden administration, The Center Square reported. Border Patrol and ICE officers in Texas have also been the target of bomb threats, white powder, and targeted vigilante shootings, including in north Texas and at the border, The Center Square reported.
As violence against ICE officers increased, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced a bill to increase penalties for those who assault and injure them.
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