First posted on Instagram
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced in Dallas on Thursday, October 29, 2026, the results of Lone Star Mission, a coordinated Texas-wide enforcement effort conducted by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field offices across the state.
The operation ran from October 19 to October 29 and brought together the five Texas field offices — Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso and Harlingen — resulting in the arrests of 4,170 people across the state of Texas.
"Lone Star Mission has been an incredible success, with the brave patriots of ICE arresting more than 4,100 illegal aliens across the state of Texas in ten days," Mullin said. "Thanks to Texas law enforcement and our federal partners, over the course of this operation, we arrested murderers, sexual assailants, drunk drivers, and alien smugglers. This operation shows exactly how important our state and local partnerships are for protecting American communities."
Among those arrested, the Department of Homeland Security named Javier Hernandez Alcon, a Mexican national deported twice before, arrested by ICE in Liberty on October 20, whose criminal history includes convictions for burglary and illegal reentry and an arrest for capital murder; Victor Manuel Macias-Castro, a La Linea Cartel member arrested in El Paso on October 22; Orlando Aguilar, arrested in Dallas on October 24 after convictions including felony intoxication assault with a vehicle; Ramon Antonio Martinez, a Honduran national arrested in Houston on October 23 who is wanted in his home country in connection with the alleged killing of a Honduran man; and Gerardo Daniel Rivera-Rivera, arrested in Zapata County on October 24 after convictions for felony sexual assault and illegal reentry.
Mullin was joined at the Dallas announcement by Field Office Directors Miguel Vergara (Dallas) and Bret Bradford (Houston), acting Field Office Directors Joshua Johnson (San Antonio) and Christopher McGregor (El Paso), and Deputy Field Office Director Mellissa De Leon (Harlingen). The department credited cooperation with state and local partners for the operation.
Readers should note that the department's "Lone Star Mission" is the ICE operation announced on October 29; it is distinct from Texas's state-run Operation Lone Star, launched in 2021. The announcement has drawn fierce debate over immigration enforcement and public safety, with the department presenting the operation as targeting the worst offenders.