Taxes crossing river and winds up US border force (5,7)

I believe the answer is:

texas rangers

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'us border force' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'taxes crossing river and winds up' is the wordplay.
'taxes crossing' becomes 'texas' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'river' becomes 'r' (abbreviation for river).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'winds up' becomes 'angers' (I've seen this before).
'texas'+'r'+'angers'='TEXAS RANGERS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for texas rangers that I've seen is " US state police".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.