(The Center Square) – Authorities in west Texas and New Mexico are aggressively arresting and prosecuting illegal border crossers in construction zones and for engaging in a common practice at the border: impersonating construction workers.
Law enforcement officials in Texas have been apprehending illegal border crossers for years who dress in construction gear, including wearing reflective yellow vests and hard hats, The Center Square has observed. Often times, an entire carload of people will be wearing hard hats, law enforcement officials working through Texas’ Operation Lone Star have found. Once they’re pulled over and can’t speak English, officers quickly learn they’re dealing with illegal border crossers, The Center Square has observed.
With more construction workers in areas where border wall construction is underway, the opportunity to impersonate construction workers has increased exponentially.
In the U.S. Customs and Border Protection El Paso Sector, which includes two west Texas counties and all of New Mexico, the Trump administration is constructing a new Smart Wall system. This includes replacing seven miles of old, dilapidated barrier fencing and 22 miles of system attributes in the Santa Teresa CBP area of responsibility in New Mexico, located roughly 30 miles from El Paso. Another 23 miles of new Smart Wall and 81 miles of system attributes are being built in New Mexico and 48 miles of new wall construction and 46 miles of system attributes are being built in El Paso, The Center Square reported.
El Paso Border Patrol officers have implemented enhanced security measures, noting the construction zones “pose additional safety risks to those attempting to cross illegally, including exposure to moving machinery and unstable terrain.”
Recent arrests were of Mexican and Ecuadoran nationals roughly two miles west of the Paso del Norte International Port of Entry. After they illegally entered the country, they dressed as construction workers “attempting to blend in with the construction workers on site,” CBP said. “Anyone attempting unlawful entry along the El Paso Sector border, including construction zones, will face immediate detection, prosecution, and removal, with a 100-percent prosecution rate,” it added.
“These construction zones will continue to be heavily monitored by our Border Patrol agents and unlawful entry will not be tolerated,” El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jesse Munoz warned. “Individuals attempting to enter the United States unlawfully in construction zones or anywhere in the El Paso Sector are subject to immediate detection, prosecution and removal.”
“Entering the U.S. illegally is both dangerous to your life and your freedom,” U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons for the Western District of Texas said, adding that his office “is committed to prosecuting every person caught illegally entering this country.”
His office filed 11,542 border crime charges in 2025, a spokesperson told The Center Square. They include those with extensive criminal histories, The Center Square reported.
The current zero-tolerance policy is a reversal of Biden administration policies that required Border Patrol agents to release illegal border crossers into the U.S. and border crosser crimes were rarely federally prosecuted.
The El Paso sector experienced record high illegal border crossings and crime during the Biden administration. At the height of the border crisis, in November 2022 alone, more than 53,500 illegal border crossers and 24,000 gotaways were reported, the majority in New Mexico, The Center Square reported. At the time, El Paso’s Democratic mayor declared a state of emergency and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed 400 National Guard troops to the Texas-New Mexico-Mexico border.
Illegal entries in New Mexico reached their peak in 2023 as Texas OLS expanded operations, The Center Square exclusively reported. The Santa Teresa station was the busiest in the El Paso Sector, The Center Square reported.
By 2024, Texas OLS officers erected barriers to prevent illegal entry from Mexico and New Mexico after New Mexico was Texas’ only neighbor that refused to participate in OLS. The situation was so bad in New Mexico that its state Republican lawmakers came to Texas to learn how they could replicate OLS efforts, The Center Square reported.
Texas OLS officers also arrested violent Tren de Aragua members in El Paso, including those who allegedly took over a hotel, committing violent crimes, The Center Square reported.
By the end of 2025, under the Trump administration, illegal entries in New Mexico dropped by 80% in one year and by 95% in three years, The Center Square reported.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison for the District of New Mexico is also aggressively prosecuting border crimes, filing roughly 100 cases a week. “People who cross illegally in or around these construction projects will face federal charges and removal, consistent with the 100-percent prosecution policy in this sector,” he said. “Strict enforcement enhances safety for construction workers, agents, and the public while this critical infrastructure is being built.”
Border Patrol is also encouraging members of the public to report suspicious border related activity by calling 1-800-635-2509.
