HOUSTON – Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham on Monday directed her agency to begin surveilling state-owned land along the Texas-Mexico border for evidence that criminal organizations have tried to build cross-border tunnels, according to local reports.
The memo instructs GLO field staff to identify vulnerable tracts, with an initial focus on Hudspeth County, and to work with Customs and Border Protection to learn signs of underground tunneling. It calls for using drones and other technology during routine land inspections as part of an expanded survey of state trust lands that border Mexico.
The initiative is part of broader state efforts to address cross-border criminal activity and to protect assets managed by the General Land Office, which holds and leases public lands to raise revenue for public institutions such as public schools. The move also ties into the site-wide reporting and oversight we provide in our Border Coverage.
Background
Federal authorities say Mexican drug trafficking organizations and other criminal groups have used tunnels beneath the U.S.-Mexico border for decades. Tunnels range from shallow, improvised passages to more engineered shafts equipped with ventilation and rail systems. Most documented tunnels have been found in the Southwest in Arizona and California, where soil and terrain have been more favorable to construction.
- When authorities find elaborate tunnels, they commonly render them inoperable by sealing or filling them and by dismantling surface infrastructure tied to the access points.
- Discoveries of tunnels have prompted multiagency investigations because tunnel construction, use, and smuggling across the international boundary invoke federal criminal statutes and often involve multiple jurisdictions.
- Detection and mitigation of tunnels can require specialized tools and expertise that go beyond routine land inspections, including geophysical surveys, ground-penetrating radar, seismic and acoustic sensors, thermal imaging and sustained monitoring.
Details From Officials and Records
The GLO memo orders the agency’s Asset Enhancement Department to identify lands that could be used as tunnel entry points and to increase surveillance of those properties. Hudspeth County, in far West Texas, was named as the initial focus because of its remote stretches of state-owned land along the border.
Commissioner Buckingham wrote that a perceived decline in arrests at the southern border since President Joe Biden took office has prompted concern that smuggling networks may adapt by shifting to covert methods, including tunneling. The memo directs staff to consult with CBP on indicators of underground activity and to deploy drones or other detection tools during inspections.
GLO officials emphasized the distinction between surveying and enforcement. The agency said its role is to protect trust assets and to provide observations and information to federal law enforcement when it finds potential underground infrastructure. Federal agencies retain primary investigative and prosecutorial authority over cross-border tunnel cases.
Detecting tunnels on large, sparsely populated tracts presents technical and fiscal challenges. Some detection methods are costly and labor intensive, and false positives can arise from natural ground features or legitimate subsurface infrastructure. GLO leaders told staff the survey will begin with mapping and visual inspections, supplemented by targeted use of technology and CBP training.
Reactions and Next Steps
Customs and Border Protection is identified in the memo as a partner for training and technical guidance. CBP has units and programs focused on border infrastructure and counter-smuggling technologies and regularly works with local, state and federal partners when underground contraband routes are suspected.
Former Border Patrol officials and security analysts have warned that when enforcement pressures shift on the surface, smugglers may seek alternate routes and methods, including tunnels or maritime pathways. Those dynamics inform why state land managers and local law enforcement pay attention to subterranean indicators even when federal agencies carry enforcement responsibility.
Key upcoming actions listed in the GLO memo include staff identifying priority tracts along state-owned border land; coordination with CBP to learn tunneling indicators and detection techniques; and the use of drones and other tools during routine land inspections to look for signs of subterranean activity.
Practical steps the agency will likely face include balancing the cost of specialized detection equipment, training field staff, developing protocols for noticing and reporting suspected activity to federal partners, and protecting privacy and property rights for land users in border communities.
Analysis
The GLO initiative illustrates recurring governance questions at the border about roles, responsibilities and resource allocation. State-led surveillance of public land aims to protect trust assets and public safety, but it also underscores the dependence of state efforts on federal investigative authority and technical capacity.
Detecting and countering sophisticated tunnels requires coordination and investment. If the GLO’s mapping and surveillance produce credible leads, federal partners will need to take the lead on investigation and remediation. If the effort remains mainly observational, the fiscal burden and technical limits of a land management agency could constrain its effectiveness in stopping organized smuggling.
The policy also highlights the potential for duplication or friction if state and federal agencies do not establish clear information-sharing and operational protocols. Lawmakers and oversight officials may scrutinize how funds are allocated for surveillance, whether it generates actionable intelligence, and how the effort affects communities along the border.
Finally, the move is likely to prompt questions from advocacy groups and the public about transparency, civil liberties and the balance between border security and other state priorities, including the GLO’s core mission of maximizing long-term revenue for public beneficiaries. How Texas and federal partners manage those tradeoffs will determine whether the surveillance effort improves public safety and asset protection or creates new governance challenges.
