Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – In 24 hours, Rio Grande Valley agents foiled four human smuggling attempts and in the process arrested 102 illegal aliens.
Tuesday morning, Rio Grande City agents received information of a possible stash house located in Roma, Texas. Border Patrol and the Roma Police Department arrived at the residence and discovered 46 subjects illegally in the country being held in the home. The subjects in the residence were determined to be from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Tuesday afternoon, Weslaco agents working in San Juan, Texas, in coordination with San Juan Police Department, approached a San Juan residence to conduct a welfare check. A man sitting outside of the trailer home attempted to flee as the marked service vehicles drew near to the residence. Leaving the front door wide open, law enforcement personnel were able to clearly observe multiple subjects laying on the floor. As agents cleared the home, a total of 52 subjects, determined to be illegally present in the United States, were encountered. The subjects were citizens of Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The home was not properly ventilated and temperatures reached 90 degrees. Several of the subjects displayed flu like symptoms and were treated accordingly.
Later that afternoon, McAllen agents were called to assist La Joya Police Officers on a traffic stop near the Stars Drive-In on Expressway 83. An interview of all occupants revealed the driver and passenger, U.S. citizens, attempted to transport one illegal alien further into the United States.
Tuesday evening, a Ford mustang approached the Javier Vega Jr. Checkpoint for inspection. A service canine alerted to the trunk area of the vehicle and was subsequently referred to the secondary inspection area. Further inspection of the trunk revealed two subjects, illegally present in the U.S. A third subject was discovered concealed underneath blankets in the rear seat of the vehicle. The driver and passenger were placed under arrest and all five subjects were escorted inside the checkpoint for processing.
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.
