By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
People smugglers continue to be apprehended by law enforcement officers working on Texas’ border surveillance mission, Operation Lone Star.
Texas DPS troopers, sheriffs and their deputies, police officers and agents, Border Patrol and other federal agents, as well as law enforcement officers from other states try to prevent Americans and foreigners from smuggling people north from the Texas/Mexico border. The smugglers are responding to social media advertisements from cartels under the assumption that they will get several thousand dollars per person they successfully bring north, law enforcement officials have explained to The Center Square.
Every day, law enforcement finds people, both adults and children, hiding in train cars, in the beds of pickup trucks, packed in cars, or hiding in the cabs of semi-trucks. They also find them hidden behind hay bales, stacked tires, crates of fruit or vegetables in the back of trucks or in moving vans or trucks.
In February, Kinney County sheriff’s deputies arrested Houston smugglers who crammed a 5-year-old into the trunk. It took three deputies to revive her and save her life. In neighboring Uvalde County, Border Patrol and Border Patrol officers found people hiding in grain trucks.
Most recently, officers found teenagers sitting in the trunk of a car in South Texas, where temperatures reach over 100 degrees.
In Brackettville, Texas, in Kinney County, DPS agents working with Florida troopers recently apprehended the driver of an Infinity G35 on Highway 90. When asked if it was his vehicle, the driver said, “No, it belongs to my friend, my brother.” He said he was from Dallas and was using an expired California driver’s license.
When the cop asked if he had anything illegal in the car, “No drugs, no guns, nothing at all?” he replied, “no.”
In response to the driver saying he had been in neighboring Del Rio that morning, the officer asked him, “How long were you in Del Rio?” He replied, “I just came in for the morning.”
“So you’re going back to Dallas now?” the officer asked. He replied, “yes.”
The officers then searched the car and found in the trunk two teenagers, aged 14 and 16, who were being smuggled into the US. The passenger, a woman, was also illegal in the US.
All three were handed over to Border Patrol and the driver was arrested and charged with human trafficking.
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In Maverick County, DPS troopers working with Florida troopers observed two drivers of a Nissan Pathfinder and Ford Mustang traveling together on FM 418 and stopped them. After they stopped, several illegal foreigners jumped out and ran into the thicket.
One of the drivers, from Houston, said he was escorted by the Mustang’s driver who spoke no English. Both had Texas driver’s licenses. The one who didn’t speak English had a Texas ID that said he was under 21 years old. Both drivers were arrested and charged with human trafficking.
Three Guatemalans who had entered the country illegally and were rescued from the Pathfinder were apprehended and handed over to Border Patrol.
Also in Maverick County, DPS drone operators found a people smuggler leading groups of foreigners from Mexico across the Rio Grande River to illegally enter the US at Eagle Pass. A DPS Tactical Marine Unit responded and arrested the smuggler in the river. Jose Delgado-Zuniga, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and is facing criminal charges for human trafficking.
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DPS troopers also rescued two Guatemalan children, ages 8 and 11, from the edge of the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass. They told troopers that a woman they didn’t know left them at the river’s edge in Mexico and ordered them to cross into Texas.
In neighboring La Salle County, troopers chased a semi-truck driver traveling north on Highway 35 to San Antonio after he refused to pull over for a traffic violation. During the chase, the driver was going over 85 mph and was driving on the wrong side of the highway. The driver eventually swerved into the undergrowth and numerous illegal foreigners jumped out of the cab.
The driver, Eduardo Aradas of Florida, was arrested and faces criminal charges for human trafficking and evading arrest. Twelve foreigners who illegally entered the US were turned over to Border Patrol.
Province of La Salle – A @TxDPS chased down a truck tractor on IH-35 after the driver refused to stop for a traffic violation. During the chase, the driver reached speeds of 85 mph and drove on the wrong side of the highway. The driver and numerous illegal immigrants were rescued. Troopers… pic.twitter.com/0yZSetJc8Z
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) July 3, 2023
Since Governor Greg Abbott launched OLS in March 2021, OLS agents have apprehended more than 387,000 illegal aliens and made more than 30,400 criminal arrests, with more than 28,500 felony charges.
“Every individual apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drug seized would otherwise have found its way into communities across Texas and the country because of President Joe Biden’s open-border policies,” Abbott said of OLS.
Syndicated with permission from Center Square.