Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered the Department of Public Safety to help federal immigration agents find and arrest immigrants who have arrest warrants. “These teams will coordinate with…
Federal agents executed immigration enforcement actions Friday for the second consecutive day in El Paso, but again provided few details.
Spokespersons for the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration said their agents provided support to immigration enforcement actions, with the DEA spokesperson saying the operations occurred “in various locations throughout El Paso.”
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is the lead agency on the operations, did not immediately respond to a request for information from El Paso Matters. The ICE spokesperson hasn’t provided details on Thursday’s operation, which appeared to take place in El Paso’s Upper Valley.
The El Paso DEA sent media photos from Friday’s operations, but provided no details of the activity. One photo appears to show agents from various law enforcement agencies gathering at the U.S. Border Patrol sector headquarters in Northeast El Paso.
Focus on immigrants with criminal records
ICE arrests are fairly common in El Paso, but until this week have generally been done without media announcements. ICE arrests usually involve people who have lived in the United States without authorization for some time, with a focus on people with criminal records.
In fiscal year 2024, ICE reported 525 arrests, or about 10 a week, in its El Paso Area of Responsibility, which includes Far West Texas and all of New Mexico. In fiscal year 2023, ICE averaged almost 32 arrests per week in the El Paso Area of Responsibility.
Because ICE hasn’t provided details about operations Thursday and Friday, it’s not clear whether the actions are substantially different from prior operations. The Trump administration has ordered Justice Department agencies like the FBI and DEA to assist Department of Homeland Security agencies in immigration enforcement actions.
The photos released Friday show agents from DEA, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Border Patrol and Texas Department of Public Safety participated in the latest operation.
This story was published first at El Paso Matters. To see the oritinal story, click here.