EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) Border Patrol agents disrupted four human smuggling events resulting in 50 arrests.
Yesterday morning, Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station (RGC) agents responded to a request for assistance from a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper with a vehicle bailout in Escobares, Texas. When agents arrived at the scene, the trooper advised he was behind a suspicious vehicle when the driver came to a stop, on his own, and multiple people absconded into the nearby brush. Agents and troopers encountered ten migrants in the surrounding area. The migrants were determined to be illegally present in the United States. They were transferred to the Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station for processing. DPS placed the driver under arrest for driving while intoxicated and evading arrest or detention and transported him to Starr County Jail for booking.
Yesterday afternoon, RGV agents received information of a possible human smuggling stash house located in Palmview, Texas. Agents responded to the residence and encountered five people, who were determined to be in the United States illegally. The nationals of Guatemala and El Salvador were placed under arrest without incident.
Shortly after, RGV agents, along with assistance from local law enforcement, apprehended seven migrants from Mexico at a hotel in Alamo, Texas. They encountered the subjects in two hotel rooms after receiving information of people being harbored at the location. No principal or caretaker was identified.
Today, RGC agents were advised that a concerned citizen reported seeing multiple migrants walking to an apartment complex in Roma, Texas. Roma Police Department officers, also, responded to the area and met agents at the residence. As the agents and officers were looking around the property, a person opened the door and multiple migrants were observed inside the apartment. Agents determined the 27 people were noncitizens. No principals were identified.
Border Patrol is processing the subjects accordingly.
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.
Please visit www.cbp.gov to view additional news releases and other information pertaining to Customs and Border Protection. Follow us on Twitter @CBPRGV, @USBPChiefRGV and @USBPDepChiefRGV.
~CBP~