West Texas Sheriff Thad Cleveland knows better than anyone that you can’t take your eyes off the border, even in the most remote parts of the Lone Star State. Despite the slowdown in illegal alien crossings nationwide and an increase in deportations, Cleveland tells Breitbart Texas, “Even though crossings have decreased, we are still tracking groups of illegal aliens hoping to get away from authorities, some we fear may attempt to return after recent removals.”
Cleveland says the slowdown in border crossings has been drastic and noticeable even in the remote parts of West Texas’ Terrell County, where he serves as the Sheriff. The county includes 90 miles of Rio Grande west of the county seat of Sanderson, which has less than 1,000 residents.
More than two thousand square miles of harsh, brushy terrain features level plains in the east and mountainous areas with canyons in the west. Portions of the county vary in elevation and rise in some parts from 1,300 to 4,000 feet above sea level. The harsh, sparsely populated terrain makes crossing and attempting to traverse the county on foot extremely dangerous.
Sheriff Cleveland knows the area well. He was first appointed Sheriff in May 2022 and later elected to the position he still holds today. Before becoming Sheriff, Cleveland spent just over 26 years in the United States Border Patrol, serving in several border sectors across the country. Cleveland spent the last 11 years serving as the Patrol Agent in Charge of the Sanderson Border Patrol Station.
Breitbart Texas spoke at length to Cleveland about what he has seen since President Trump’s inauguration and a return to stricter border security policies. Cleveland says the results are noticeable in the number of smuggling attempts he sees on local highways.
Although the presence of smugglers on the highways has been reduced, Cleveland says they still occur and carry the same risks to residents in the small rural county.
“The danger smugglers pose to our community and the country is the same. If they flee from authorities and crash into an innocent civilian even once, it’s one too many times,” Cleveland told Breitbart Texas. Despite being retired from the Border Patrol, Cleveland continues to use his skills as a tracker. He allows his deputies to join forces with the Border Patrol, the Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol, and the Texas Military Department to carry out the border security mission jointly.
“This is rough terrain, and tracking people who try to cross here is a time-consuming process,” the sheriff explained. “Our latest joint tracking endeavor to successfully arrest a group of illegal aliens with the Border Patrol took 16 hours to resolve and covered dozens of miles of terrain.”
“Until we make an apprehension, we don’t know who we are dealing with, so it is critical that we are successful and stay on task,” Cleveland emphasized.
Cleveland and his deputies have noticed several commonalities among the groups of illegal aliens continuing to attempt to cross through his county: Most are from Mexico, most are male, and almost all dress in full camouflage attire. The manner of dress makes the groups of illegal border crossers hard to detect. The extreme temperatures in the region, especially during the hot Texas summer, discourage some women and children from making the trek on foot.
Between May 2022 and February 2025, Terrell County Sheriff’s deputies arrested nearly 2,000 illegal aliens and recorded 209 border-related seizures with just a few deputies. A legacy of the last two years of the Biden administration, according to Cleveland, is the 31 illegal alien deaths that occurred in his county. Cleveland’s deputies assisted the Border Patrol and state authorities in the arrest of thousands more.
According to CBP, illegal alien crossings spiked within the once quiet Big Bend Sector surrounding Sanderson, Texas. Between 2017 and 2019, the sector averaged less than 10,000 apprehensions per year. By 2022, the number of illegal alien apprehensions rose to more than 31,000. In February, CBP recorded a mere 165 illegal alien apprehensions compared to more than 3,000 in February 2022, just before Cleveland took office.
Cleveland summed up the current border situation, saying authorities along the border can’t lose focus, even if illegal crossings drop to zero. “The cartels and independent smugglers will never stop trying to get people and contraband across the border. Our citizens expect us to be out there and to remain vigilant,” Cleveland concluded.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
