Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – Since Tuesday, Rio Grande Valley agents foiled five human smuggling attempts and in the process arrested 40 illegal aliens.
Wednesday night, Rio Grande Valley Sector agents working near San Manuel, Texas, attempted a vehicle stop on a black Chevrolet pickup travelling north on Highway 281. As the agent activated the vehicle’s emergency lights, the truck failed to yield and continued to travel north before veering off the side of the road and crashing into a fence. The truck continued to drive into the private ranch before the driver abandoned it and fled. Agents searched the truck and found a Guatemalan national locked in the truck’s toolbox. An additional search of the area led to the discovery and arrest of a second illegal alien. Agents offered medical attention to the subjects, but they declined.
The following day, a concerned citizen contacted the Weslaco Border Patrol station and made them aware of a human smuggling attempt that occured in Alamo, Texas. The caller advised that a light colored van picked up several people and fled at a high rate of speed. The station dispatched agents to the area and advised they had the suspect vehicle in sight. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle traveled northbound and continued driving until finally stopping north of FM 907. Agents arrested the Mexican national driver, and 15 passengers who are all illegally present in the United States.
Additionally, Kingsville agents arrested three drivers and 22 illegal aliens during three failed smuggling attempts.
Border Patrol processed the cases and subjects accordingly.
The Rio Grande Valley Sector currently has multiple campaigns focused on rescues and danger awareness, such as “Operation Big Rig” and “No Se Arriesgue” to combat smuggling and ultimately save lives. Call 911 to report suspicious activity; “They’re humans, not cargo!”
Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation. The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
