As the news of President Barrack Obama’s executive action on immigration spreads, the Texas border could see a new immigration surge in the near future. One of the concerns of law enforcement is criminal aliens trying to hide within the surge.
“That is a given, human smugglers will see the opportunity to spin the message and lure their victims into making the journey,” Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio. “We have had a strong law enforcement presence and agency cooperation in South Texas so I’m not too worried, but I am concerned about the counties in Arizona, New Mexico and California where they don’t have the manpower and cooperation or the infrastructure. Here we have a river and a fence; over there they have some areas where the only border is a marker.”
In preparation for the a new surge, law enforcement agencies have been working their intelligence channels and preparing their task forces to address any new spikes, said Juan Gonzalez the Police Chief in San Juan and the commander of a regional tactical team called LEERT.
Gonzalez has had his investigators targeting a surge in human stash houses, a term used to describe properties where human smugglers hide illegal aliens in preparation for their trip north.
“We will continue to work in identifying and targeting criminals trying to hide in those houses,” Gonzalez said. “We are looking for gang members, felons, cartel members; they try to camouflage themselves with the families. We will identify them and arrest them.”
Follow Ildefonso Ortiz on Twitter @ildefonsoortiz
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