86 Migrants Arrested in Five Failed Human Smuggling Attempts in Texas near Border

BOB PRICE

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector disrupted five human smuggling attempts. The interdictions led to the arrest of 86 migrants attempting to make their way into the U.S. interior.

Rio Grande City Station agents observed a group of migrants making landfall along the Rio Grande border river on April 2. The agents, along with a K-9 team and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers tracked the group to a residence in Rio Grande City, Texas, according to information obtained from Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials.

The agents observed fresh mud on the walls of the house near a window ledge. They called for support from Rio Grande City police officers to obtain entry into the house. Inside, agents found eight illegal aliens, officials stated.

Two days earlier, McAllen Statio agents received a call from the Mission Police Department about a possible human smuggling stash house in their city. Agents responded to the mobile home where they found a group of 13 migrants. Officials identified the migrants as foreign nationals from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Later that night, agents attempted to stop a Ford F-350 pickup truck near Linn/San Manuel, Texas. The driver refused to yield leading the agents on a short pursuit. The pursuit ended when the truck crashed into a fence.

The agents observed a group of migrants bailing out of the truck and fleeing into the brush. A search of the area led to the apprehension of two Honduran nationals illegally present in the United States.

In two additional incidents on Thursday, Rio Grande Valley Sector agents apprehended 63 more migrants.