The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) apprehended a group of 134 migrants in Maverick County, among which some individuals hailed from Iran and Angola. As noted in an article from KSAT, the migrants were identified using drone surveillance footage that highlighted the presence of 32 unaccompanied minors and seven "special interest" immigrants, a term used by the Department of Homeland Security to label those who may pose a national security risk to the U.S.
Maverick County has recently been a key area for such detentions, with Texas DPS capturing 22 special interest aliens last week, a topic covered by local and national media. According to Texas Scorecard, Texas is one of 29 U.S. states with known terrorist cases, increasing the urgency for immigration and border security operations in the state.
Steve McGraw, the DPS Director, has previously highlighted the serious nature of these apprehensions. "These are not illegal immigrants seeking asylum—these are people trying to cross into the United States undetected who may also be trying to do us harm," McGraw said, as previously reported by Texas Scorecard. In response to such concerns, the protocols for handling individuals labeled as special interest are generally stricter, focusing on their points of origin, travel patterns, and possible links to terrorist groups.
The 32 unaccompanied minors, lacking any parents or legal guardians at the time of their detention, are expected to be transferred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services custody. Here, the Office of Refugee Resettlement is tasked with releasing them to U.S.-based sponsors. However, reports have emerged from organizations like Muckraker, suggesting rather that many might end up with total strangers, increasing risks such as human trafficking. Selene Rodriguez, the campaign director for Secure & Sovereign Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, has voiced concerns over policy decisions, saying, "When you lack security at the border, you hand the cartels a booming business of human trafficking," according to the Texas Scorecard report.
