Plumbing 
Melissa Federspill|Leader-News
Thirty-eighth Judicial District Attorney Christina M. Busbee, Border Prosecution Unit project director Nelson Barnes, Texas Department of Public Safety Captain Joel Betancourt and 452nd Judicial District Attorney Tonya Ahlschwede.
Many area farmers, ranchers, and residents with first-hand accounts of trespassers abusing their properties gathered on Thursday to learn more about how Uvalde County’s participation in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star arrest initiative can help them.
The meeting, held at the Uvalde County Fairplex for an approximate 2.5 hours, was led by Texas Department of Public Safety Captain Joel Betancourt.
He said Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant Ryan Glenn and his elite brush team walk an average of 15 miles daily in the thick and thorny South Texas landscape tracking and arresting individuals who have entered the country illegally and are trespassing on private property.
His work is part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial Operation Lone Star initiative that aims to curb the rise of illegal immigration by using the tools of state law enforcement.
For Glenn to do his job he is requesting landowner participation in the criminal trespass arm of the program, via a criminal trespass affidavit, which is now available in Uvalde County through the 38th Judicial District Attorney.
Property owners interested in pressing charges need to sign and file the affidavit. The form will be available online at 38thda.org., and needs to be emailed directly to Glenn at ryan.glenn@dps.texas.gov.
Landowners also need to provide DPS, local law enforcement, and/or Border Patrol access to their property and trust that those entities will leave the area as they found it, not disrupting the ranching or farming operation if there is one in place
Thirty-eighth judicial District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee whose jurisdiction includes Uvalde County and who was present for the meeting, said prosecution will begin here in mid-May.
She said her office has been preparing for the program for months, and is working to ensure the prosecution of these individuals can be supported by her office.
Melissa Federspill}Leader-News
Thirty-eighth Judicial District Attorney Christina M. Busbee and assistant DA Juan Carlos Duron.
The program, which Betancourt says focuses on deterrents and prevention, launched in Maverick County on Tuesday.
“Within 30 minutes we had 38 arrests, so we had to pause,” he said, noting the department did not want to inundate the system, which has been reported as happening in Kinney County.
Since OLS inception, there have been approximately 3,212 criminal trespass arrests, per DPS data as of March 3.
The majority of the arrests have occurred in Kinney County.
From October to February, Kinney County reported holding nearly 1,700 court hearings for the trespassing cases, resulting in nearly 500 men pleading guilty, according to the Texas Tribune.
Kinney County was the first county to begin criminal prosecution for trespass through OLS.
There were several individuals that spoke about the impact trespassers have had on their livelihoods, including the cost associated with broken fencing, water wells, water lines, and livestock loss. Many wanted assurances that the perpetrators would face consequences.
Personal safety, and an individual’s right in protecting their private property, and restitution for damages were also topics of discussion.
“In the last year and half, I probably have an average of 100 people through our ranch daily…causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage,” one man said, asking what can be done.
Melissa Federspill|Leader-News
During the Operation Lone Star presentation, Richard Nunley of Nunley Brothers ranches asks Nelson Barnes, project director for the Border Prosecution Unit (not pictured), about the legality of using a personal vehicle to stop a bailout on his property. “How aggressive can I be to get them to stop?” he asked. Barnes said he would advise the property owner to let the vehicle continue its course. The meeting was held Thursday at the Uvalde County Fairplex.
He said he understands people are released after being processed by Border Patrol.
Betancourt explained that through Operation Lone Star, the individuals will be arrested if they trespass or commit a crime and the property owner has signed the affidavit.
“If they cut your fence, criminal mischief; if they break into your house, for burglary; if they steal your vehicle, for stealing your vehicle,” he said.
Under the program, only healthy males, ages 18-65 will be arrested. Women, children, and those that are ill will be turned over to US Customs and Border Protection.
Betancourt said that it was best for a law enforcement agency such as DPS not CBP, to be first on scene and that property owners have the option of calling the DPS station directly at 512-424-0886.
“If we get them first, or if one of the sheriff deputies or one of the officers gets them first, and they committed a crime, we are taking them to jail,” he said.
“Border Patrol can deal with them after we deal with our process and the court system.”
“If Border Patrol gets them first, they have initial custody of the individual,” Betancourt explained, adding that if the individual has committed a crime, then DPS will file a detainer which will trigger a follow-up.
“If Border Patrol is going to release them, they are obligated to call us.”
Individuals arrested in Uvalde County will be processed in Val Verde County and jailed at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Dolph Briscoe Unit in Dilley.
Thirty-eighth Judicial District assistant district attorney Juan Carlos Duron was also at the meeting. Tonya Ahlschwede, 452nd district attorney, which covers a five county-region in the Hill Country, and Nelson Barnes, project director for the Border Prosecution Unit were also in attendance.
Both have experience with OLS and its roll out in several counties, including Kinney, Maverick and Val Verde. They provided insight and guidance about the prosecution process, and restitution for damages.
Local law enforcement officials also weighed in on the launch of the program locally.
In the past five months, from October 2021 through February 2022, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Del Rio Sector, which includes Uvalde County, have encountered 153,271 migrants, per USBP statistics.
Since the launch of OLS there have been 1,338 vehicle pursuits and 1,878 bailouts in the OLS areas of interest, which includes border counties, per DPS data as of March 3.
Busbee is also seeking further information about prior property history, and will have a second landowner form online at the DA website for gathering this information soon.
