Texas authorities arrested six Chinese nationals dressed in camouflage who were allegedly attempting to evade capture after crossing the border illegally into the United States, officials said, describing them as “special interest aliens.”
Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), said on May 27 that the Chinese nationals were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents on a private ranch in Maverick County near the Texas–Mexico border.
The six Chinese nationals were among a group of 12 illegal immigrants apprehended during the late-night operation, Olivarez said in a post on X. All six were dressed in camouflage clothing.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defines a special interest alien as someone “who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests.”
The apprehension was the second operation carried out in Maverick County on the night of May 26 involving illegal immigrants allegedly attempting to avoid detection.
Olivarez said that tracking K-9 Bona and her handler assisted Border Patrol agents in tracking and apprehending seven illegal immigrants on another private ranch in the county. The group included nationals from Mexico, Guatemala, India, Ecuador, and Cuba.
“These apprehensions highlight the ongoing efforts in deterring criminal activity along the southern border and the critical partnership between Texas DPS and our federal partners under Operation Lone Star,” Olivarez said in a statement. “Border security is national security.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a post on X that “Operation Lone Star continues nonstop to arrest illegal immigrants along our border.”
Similar Cases Reported in South Texas
Texas authorities have reported several similar incidents in recent months involving Chinese nationals apprehended after illegally crossing the southern border, with some also allegedly wearing camouflage clothing.In February, Texas DPS said troopers stopped a vehicle in Maverick County and discovered four people smuggled inside, all dressed in camouflage. One of the passengers was identified as Beibei Liu, 34, a Chinese national classified as a special interest alien.
In another case earlier this month, a DPS Brush Team working alongside U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended six people during multiple encounters near Roma in Starr County. Olivarez later said one of the individuals was a Chinese national designated as a special interest alien.
Expanded Immigration Enforcement Push
The latest arrests come amid a broader push by the Trump administration to intensify immigration enforcement and increase deportations.“We are after everyone, but again, you’ve got to prioritize those who are the biggest threats to our national security, public safety,” Homan told the Washington Examiner.
Homan said roughly 800,000 illegal immigrants had been removed from the country since President Donald Trump returned to office, adding that “hundreds of thousands” of those removed were criminals or public safety threats.
Under the policy, Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys will receive expanded authority to pursue enforcement actions against immigration lawyers accused of filing fraudulent asylum claims or coaching clients to conceal information from authorities.
DHS General Counsel James Percival said the administration was moving to address what he described as widespread abuse of asylum protections.
“Protection claims like asylum are intended to cover unique and narrow circumstances, but it is standard practice for immigration attorneys representing illegal aliens to assert that virtually every illegal alien is going to be persecuted or tortured in his or her home country,” Percival said in a statement.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association criticized the directive, calling it a “chilling directive” targeting immigration attorneys and rejecting allegations of systemic fraud within the asylum system.
