6 Chinese Nationals Arrested by Border Agents Near Eagle Pass

Six Chinese nationals—all dressed in camouflage—were discovered and arrested by law enforcement near Eagle Pass, Texas, on May 26 for illegally entering the United States.

They were captured by U.S. Border Patrol agents, alongside six other illegal immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador on a private ranch in Maverick County, Texas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Customs and Border Protection.

Another seven illegal immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, India, Ecuador, and Cuba were also found and arrested on a private ranch in Maverick County earlier in the day by a DPS K-9 named Bona and her handler, who were assisting U.S. Border Patrol.

According to a photo of the Chinese “special interest aliens” shared by Texas DPS spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez, five appear to be young males accompanied by one young female.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, this number has decreased significantly from the Biden Administration’s open border policy, which allowed almost 38,000 Chinese illegal aliens to enter our country in FY’24 alone,” a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email.

Special interest aliens are a designation given to non-U.S. persons identified based on their travel patterns to potentially pose a national security risk to the United States or its interests. Since the start of the second term of the Trump presidency, the Department of Homeland Security has reported the arrests of 49,740 special interest aliens.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the arrests in a post on X.

“Operation Lone Star continues nonstop to arrest illegal immigrants along our border,” Abbott wrote. “Last night, Texas DPS helped track and apprehend Special Interest Aliens from China who were attempting to evade capture on private ranches in Maverick County.”

Abbott launched the state-led border security operation on March 6, 2021, citing concerns about lax border enforcement under former President Joe Biden. The state surged personnel from the DPS and the Texas National Guard to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in sealing off sections of Texas’s border with Mexico and slowing the number of illegal border crossings.

The governor’s declaration directed the DPS to “use available resources to enforce all applicable federal and state laws to prevent the criminal activity along the border, including criminal trespassing, smuggling, and human trafficking, and to assist Texas counties in their efforts to address those criminal activities.”

After President Donald Trump was sworn into office in January 2025, he ordered the deployment of about 1,500 troops to the U.S. southern border to enforce federal immigration law.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Trump administration said it has discontinued the Biden administration’s practice of the “catch and release” of illegal immigrants and has instead been working to deport illegal immigrants to their home countries.

“Twelve straight months of ZERO releases at the border,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a May update. “The days of catch and release are over. We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries.”

DHS data show a “sustained decline” in illegal border crossings and apprehensions since the start of the second Trump administration, the department said in its monthly update.

“With daily apprehensions down 95 [percent] from the previous administration and 15 consecutive months of fewer than 9,000 southwest border apprehensions, the border remains more secure than at any point in history,” it said.

However, the ongoing issue of undetected “gotaways,” who evade detection and capture after illegally entering the United States, continues to pose a threat to national security. The Trump administration has reported a decrease in the number of known gotaways.

According to DHS, the Del Rio Sector, which includes Maverick County, has seen decreases in both the number of illegal immigrant encounters and known gotaways—down by 89.6 percent and by 90.7 percent, respectively, in fiscal year 2026.