Texas saw a 51% drop in border apprehensions after expanding Operation Lone Star.

Border Patrol apprehended illegal border crossers in Texas by 51 percent in a year, according to federal data. The sharp drop comes as Gov. Greg Abbott expanded border security efforts in the state as part of Operation Lone Star.

In fiscal year 2023, Border Patrol agents reported 1,045,655 apprehensions of illegal border crossers in five U.S. Customs and Border Protection sectors in Texas, excluding New Mexico apprehensions that fall under one of those sectors, in fiscal year 2023. The number dropped to 534,333 in fiscal year 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data and exclusive data obtained by The Center Square.

The overall figures are also slightly higher than in Central Square first reported last month

The data comes from CBP’s Big Bend, El Paso, Del Rio, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley sectors. The El Paso sector includes two western Texas counties and all of New Mexico; The Big Bend includes 77 counties and all of Oklahoma.

It excludes the Office of Field Operations data from the data on ports of entry and exit. Fugitives are those who entered illegally and evaded capture. CBP does not release these data. Central Square first began reporting it in 2021 after receiving a tip from a Border Patrol agent.

In fiscal year 2023, nearly 450,000 escapes and more than 1.48 million apprehensions were reported in CBP sectors in Texas, surpassing 1.9 million, The Center Square exclusively reports. Leakage data for fiscal year 2024 is expected.

Since then, Central Square has received New Mexico’s distribution of arrests in the El Paso sector: 170,846 in FY2023 and 137,002 in FY2024.

Comparing just the Border Patrol data, Texas apprehended 511,322 fewer people over the year, a 51% drop.

The fall comes after Abbott hired Texas’ first border czar in January 2023, former Border Patrol chief Mike Banks, to implement a “Position, Deterrence and Interdiction” (PDI) strategy, The Center Square first reported. Within a year, Texas resistance grew and illegal infiltration increased in New Mexico, Arizona, and California, Central Square first reported.

By CBP sector, the El Paso sector reported the highest number of Border Patrol apprehensions in fiscal year 2024 at 256,102, with more than half of apprehensions in New Mexico.

This sector has 268 international border miles with Mexico and covers 125,500 square miles, nearly all of 121,000 square miles in New Mexico.

When New Mexico saw a spike in illegal trespassing, its Democratic governor refused to cooperate with Abbott and the 25 governors who were sending resources to support OLS. Last year, Texas first built border barriers along its shared state line with New Mexico, Central Square first reported. The number of illegal break-ins in New Mexico has soared that Republican state lawmakers have come to Texas to see how they can replicate OLS’ efforts, Center Square first reported.

In fiscal year 2024, the El Paso sector reported the third-most Border Patrol apprehensions caused by New Mexico, behind Tucson and San Diego sectors. According to the data, border agents in Arizona, California and New Mexico apprehended nearly 1 million illegal immigrants (996,910 excluding fugitives), nearly double the number who crossed the border in Texas.

Single adults were the most detained in all sectors.

Border Patrol agents reported the next highest number of apprehensions in the Del Rio sector at 244,105, according to CBP. The sector shares 245 international land and sea miles with Mexico, including the Rio Grande River and Lake Amistad. It also extends 300 miles into Texas, covering more than 55,000 square miles in 47 counties.

The sector remains at the center of ongoing litigation between Texas and the Biden-Harris administration. Two of them before the Fifth Circuit related to the Texas barbed wire fences and sea barriers at Eagle Pass.

The Rio Grande Valley sector was also a hotspot for illegal border crossing until OLS expanded its operations, also with the support of 25 governors. Florida was one of the first, with its troops and officers disrupting smuggling operations, The Center Square reported.

The sector reported 135,009 illegal border crossings in fiscal year 2024, a significant decrease from previous years. Its agents are responsible for patrolling 320 river miles, 250 coastal miles and 19 counties spanning 17,000 square miles.

The Laredo sector reported the next highest number of Border Patrol apprehensions at 31,108. The sector shares 136 miles of the border with Mexico, including along the Rio Grande River, and extends north and northeast to the Oklahoma and Arkansas state borders.

It has also been at the center of litigation between Texas and the Biden-Harris administration, including the construction of the wall and the wildflowers that Texas won earlier this year.

The Big Bend sector reported the fewest arrests in Texas at 4,921. Geographically, the sector is the largest, covering nearly a quarter of the entire US-Mexico border. It is also the least staffed. Its Border Patrol agents are responsible for patrolling 517 river miles and 165,000 square miles in 77 Texas counties and all of Oklahoma.

In this sector, Terrell County was one of the first of the 60 counties in Texas to declare an invasion; its judge has left the Democratic Party, accusing the Biden-Harris administration of creating an unprecedented border crisis, The Center Square first reported.