Texas law enforcement and federal agencies announced a series of immigration and violent crime enforcement actions in recent days, including a South Texas traffic stop involving a “special interest alien,” the arrest of a convicted murderer in Houston, and new federal charges tied to a New Year’s Eve shooting on a crowded Dallas bridge.

1. Camo-Clad Chinese “Special Interest Alien” Found In South Texas Smuggling Stop

On February 3, Chris Olivarez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s South Texas Region, posted on X that a DPS trooper stopped a gray Toyota Camry just after 11:30 p.m. on January 30 on U.S. 277 in Maverick County and discovered the driver was allegedly smuggling four people who were in the country illegally.

Olivarez said one of the passengers was identified as a “special interest alien,” or SIA, from China.

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According to Olivarez, the driver, Juan Alfonso Merlo Ibarra, 35, an illegal immigrant from Nicaragua, was arrested and charged with four counts of smuggling of persons and booked into the Maverick County Jail. Olivarez said the Chinese national, identified as BeiBei Liu, 34, along with three illegal immigrants from Mexico, including a juvenile, were referred to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Olivarez later posted video from the stop showing a trooper questioning the vehicle’s occupants in Spanish before making arrests. The video concludes with a series of close-up images of the individuals involved.

A “special interest alien” is a non-U.S. person who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, points of origin, and other indicators, “potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests,” according to a 2019 Department of Homeland Security explainer.

DHS’s information sheet emphasized that the designation does not mean an individual is a known or suspected terrorist; rather, the travel behavior warrants heightened screening and further investigation.

2. Alleged Convicted Killer Busted In Houston After Multi-Agency Operation

In a separate case announced the same day, U.S. Border Patrol said a Vietnamese national with a prior homicide conviction was arrested in Houston during a multi-agency operation.

“A convicted murderer is off the streets thanks to the swift action of our agents and law enforcement partners,” the Border Patrol official account said in a February 3 Facebook post. The agency said the man was in the United States illegally and is now in deportation proceedings.

Border Patrol’s post did not identify the suspect by name or provide additional details about the homicide conviction in its public statement.

3. Illegal Alien Charged After Rifles Fired From Packed Dallas Bridge On New Year’s Eve

In North Texas, federal prosecutors recently escalated charges connected to a widely shared New Year’s Eve shooting on the Margaret McDermott Bridge in Dallas.

Jose Raul Alarcon Sanchez, 18, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm as an illegal alien after prosecutors said he entered the United States on a temporary visitor visa in May 2025 and remained after it expired, according to court records previously reported by The Dallas Express.

Authorities allege Alarcon Sanchez fired an AR-15-style pistol from the bridge just after midnight on January 1 as traffic was stopped and crowds gathered nearby for downtown Dallas fireworks. Video of the gunfire circulated widely on social media and triggered a multi-agency investigation.

Investigators said ballistic evidence, recovered firearms, and social media posts helped link Alarcon Sanchez to the gunfire, according to federal filings, reported by DX.

A criminal complaint is an allegation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.