Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal border crossers in Texas fell 51% in a year, federal data shows. The sharp decline comes after Gov. Greg Abbott expanded Operation Lone Star border security efforts in the state.

In fiscal year 2023, Border Patrol agents reported 1,045,655 apprehensions of illegal border crossers across five U.S. Customs and Border Protection sectors in Texas, excluding those apprehended in New -Mexico that fall into one of these sectors, in fiscal year 2023. In fiscal year 2024, this number dropped. to 534,333, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data and proprietary data obtained by The Center Square.

The totals are also slightly higher than The Center Square first reported last month.

Data comes from the CBP sectors of Big Bend, El Paso, Del Rio, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley. The El Paso area includes two West Texas counties and all of New Mexico; Big Bend includes 77 counties and all of Oklahoma.

It excludes Office of Field Operations data from points of entry and leakage data. Absconders are those who enter illegally and evade capture. CBP does not publish this data. Center Square first started reporting it in 2021 after receiving it from a Border Patrol agent.

In fiscal year 2023, nearly 450,000 escapades and more than 1.48 million arrests were reported across CBP sectors in Texas, surpassing 1.9 million, The Center Square exclusively reported. Getaway data for fiscal year 2024 is forthcoming.

Since then, The Center Square has obtained a breakdown of New Mexico arrests in the El Paso sector of 170,846 in FY 2023 and 137,002 in FY 2024.

Comparing Border Patrol data alone, there were 511,322 fewer arrests in Texas year over year, representing a 51% decline.

The decline occurred after Abbott hired Texas’ first border czar, retired Border Patrol supervisor Mike Banks, in January 2023, who implemented a “PDI strategy” (stance, deterrence and ban), The Center Square. first reported. In one year, Texan resistance grew and illegal entries increased in New Mexico, Arizona and California, The Center Square first reported.

By CBP sector, the El Paso sector reported the highest number of Border Patrol arrests in FY 2024 at 256,102, more than half of which were reported in New Mexico.

The sector shares 268 miles of international border with Mexico and spans 125,500 square miles, almost all of which, 121,000 square miles, is in New Mexico.

As illegal entries skyrocketed in New Mexico, its Democratic governor refused to work with Abbott and 25 governors sending resources to support the OLS. Last year, Texas built border fences for the first time along the border it shares with New Mexico, The Center Square. first reported. Illegal entries into New Mexico have increased so much that Republican lawmakers have come to Texas to learn how to replicate the efforts of OLS, The Center Square. first reported.

In fiscal year 2024, the El Paso sector reported the third highest number of Border Patrol arrests, fueled by New Mexico, behind the Tucson And San Diego sectors. Border Patrol agents in Arizona, California and New Mexico have apprehended a combined total of nearly 1 million illegal border crossers (996,910, excluding escapades), nearly double the number in Texas, according to the data.

Across all sectors, the greatest number of arrests were of single adults.

Border Patrol agents reported the second-highest number of apprehensions in the Del Rio sector, at 244,105, according to CBP data. The area shares 245 international land and nautical miles with Mexico, including the Rio Grande River and Lake Amistad. It also extends 300 miles into Texas, spanning more than 55,000 square miles across 47 counties.

The sector remains at the center of ongoing lawsuits between Texas and the Biden-Harris administration. Two are before the Fifth Circuit regarding the Texas concertina fences and sea barriers at Eagle Pass.

The Rio Grande Valley sector was also a hot spot for illegal border crossings until the OLS expanded its operations, also with the support of 25 governors. Florida was among the first with its troops and officers to disrupt the smuggling operations, The Center Square reported.

The industry reported 135,009 illegal border crossings in fiscal 2024, a significant decline from previous years. Its officers are responsible for patrolling 320 river miles, 250 coastal miles and 19 counties spanning 17,000 square miles.

The Laredo sector reported the second highest number of Border Patrol apprehensions of 31,108. The sector shares 136 border miles with Mexico, including along the Rio Grande River, and extends north and northeast to the Oklahoma and Arkansas state lines.

He has also been the subject of lawsuits between Texas and the Biden-Harris administration, including over wall construction and a wildflower, which Texas won earlier this year.

The Big Bend sector reported the fewest arrests in Texas, at 4,921. This sector is the largest geographically, accounting for nearly a quarter of the entire U.S.-Mexico border. It is also the least staffed. Its Border Patrol agents are responsible for patrolling 517 river miles and 165,000 square miles in 77 Texas counties and throughout Oklahoma.

In this area, Terrell County was among the first of 60 Texas counties to declare an invasion; his judge left the Democratic Party, accusing the Biden-Harris administration of creating an unprecedented border crisis, The Center Square first reported.