Texas DPS conducts rapid ICE arrests in Austin and Roma

On July 31, 2025, Texas Highway Patrol trooper Ricky Cotto stopped a white van in East Austin for an improperly placed license plate. Within 15 minutes, the five occupants were taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Body‑camera footage later showed Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) agents wearing face‑concealing masks, a practice that state policy says is restricted. The incident highlights how state police collaborate with ICE under Texas’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.

In a separate operation on May 6, 2026, the Texas DPS Brush Team, an elite unit trained for dense border terrain, worked with U.S. Border Patrol in Roma, South Texas. Six migrants were apprehended, including a man from China described by DPS as a “special interest alien.” The detainees wore colored wristbands, a tactic associated with transnational criminal organizations. Both actions are part of the broader Operation Lone Star campaign that expands state involvement in federal immigration enforcement.