Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol (RGV) agents disrupted four human smuggling attempts resulting in 34 arrests.
On March 16, at approximately 12:00 p.m., McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents responded to a request for assistance from Palmview Police Department (PPD) with a vehicle bailout near Palmview, Texas. When the agents arrived on scene, PPD had the driver and one other subject in custody. Agents determined that the driver was a U.S. citizen and the second person in custody was a Mexican national determined to be illegally present in the United States. PPD took custody of the U.S. citizen driver, who faces state charges for smuggling while MCS agents took custody of the Mexican national.
Meanwhile in Encino, TX, RGV agents attempted to conduct an immigration inspection on the occupants of a white Dodge Journey. The vehicle immediately pulled over, but then drove through a ranch fence where several subjects bailed out. A search of the immediate area resulted in the apprehension of three migrants from El Salvador. The driver was not located.
Later that afternoon, RGV agents assisted Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Department (DPS CID) at a property suspected of being used for human smuggling in Mission, Texas. A total of 10 migrants were apprehended, including one identified caretaker. Within the group was a family unit consisting of a mother with her 2-year-old child. The migrants were identified as citizens of Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador. DPS CID took custody of the caretaker.
On March 17, Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station agents received information of a residence being utilized to harbor illegal migrants in Roma, Texas. Agents, along with Starr County Sheriff’s deputies, responded to the location and encountered 19 adults who were determined to be in the United States illegally. The migrants were identified as nationals of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. No caretaker was identified.
All subjects were processed accordingly.
