Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – Over the weekend, Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector (RGV) shut down four stash houses leading to 144 apprehensions.
Friday morning, RGV agents received information regarding an Alamo, Texas, residence being used to harbor migrants. Agents and Alamo Police Department officers encountered 35 migrants, including two children. The migrants are from the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador.
Friday afternoon, Donna Police Department requested assistance from the Weslaco Border Patrol station with a Donna, Texas, residence known to be harboring migrants. Responding authorities discovered 22 migrants hiding inside. The migrants are from the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and China.
Friday evening, a concerned citizen reported suspicious activity at a Rio Grande City, Texas, residence. Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station agents alongside Rio Grande City Police Department officers responded to the location. As responding authorities approached the front door of the residence, they walked by a GMC Yukon parked in the driveway. Authorities observed four bundles of marijuana in the backseat of the vehicle. Additionally, forty-three migrants were found in the residence, including one unaccompanied juvenile. The migrants are from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador. No caretaker was identified. The marijuana was seized and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Sunday morning, Falfurrias Border Patrol Station agents working in the brush near County Road 2191, observed a white Ford pick-up truck picking up several subjects from the brush. The white Ford pick-up truck, driving in tandem with a black GMC pick-up truck, drove through a ranch gate near County Road 229. Agents located the trucks and discovered five migrants in the nearby area. The drivers of the trucks were not located.
Sunday evening, McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents observed a black Buick Enclave pick up several migrants from the river in Los Ebanos, Texas. As agents pursued the Enclave, MCS agents received a call from a concerned citizen stating a white Ford Expedition was picking up migrants in the exact same location as the Buick Enclave had moments before. Both vehicles came to a stop as subjects attempted to abandon the vehicle. With the assistance of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) air units, agents were able to locate 16 subjects from the Ford Expedition and 9 from the Buick Enclave, including both drivers. Border Patrol took custody of all subjects.
Meanwhile, Weslaco Border Patrol Station received a call from Alamo Police Department regarding the discovery of several migrants harbored within an Alamo, Texas, residence. Agents arrived and discovered 44 illegally present migrants, including one unaccompanied child. The migrants are citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
Later that evening, Falfurrias Border Patrol Station agents working on U.S. Highway 281 were in pursuit of a red Mercury Mountaineer that failed to yield after dropping off migrants in the brush near the Hidalgo/Brooks County line. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers responded and encountered the vehicle where it ultimately came to a stop on Figueroa Road and Sigueno Road. The driver admitted to dropping off five undocumented migrants in the brush in order to circumvent the checkpoint. DPS troopers took custody of the driver and Border Patrol took custody of three migrants that remained in the vehicle.
Border Patrol processed all subjects accordingly.
The public is encouraged to take a stand against crime in their communities and report suspicious activity at 800-863-9382.
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.
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