In the ever-active enforcement operations against illegal immigration in Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has once again made headlines with the arrests of two men, identified as criminal illegal immigrant fugitives, in different counties under the auspices of Operation Lone Star (OLS).
On a traffic stop that transpired on Feb. 6, DPS troopers arrested 40-year-old Armando Alonso-Cortez. According to a DPS press release, Alonso-Cortez, originally from Mexico, became a subject of law enforcement interest after a warrant check during his stop on IH-2 in Sullivan City uncovered he was wanted for the sexual assault of a child by the Alton Police Department, and was considered a flight risk. He has since been transferred to the custody of Alton Police.
The second arrest came on Feb. 11 when Carlos Daniel Espinoza-Arguello, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national, was stopped for a traffic violation in Socorro. Espinoza-Arguello was found to have an active removal order from U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and was a subject of interest in a DPS Criminal Investigations Division (CID) case for sexual assault of a child. "ERO processed Espinoza-Arguello and released him to DPS Special Agents to be interviewed," the DPS report stated. After the interview process, he was arrested and booked into the El Paso Co. Jail.
Following Espinoza-Arguello's arrest, DPS Special Agents and ERO Agents' further investigations led to the discovery of a stash house in the area. The discovery resulted in two additional illegal immigrants from Venezuela being taken into custody by ERO. These successive operations and arrests in Hidalgo and El Paso counties highlight the ongoing efforts by Texas law enforcement to address illegal immigration and the crimes sometimes associated with individuals who evade legal entry and remain within the state.
