Alleged Juvenile Human Smuggler Arrested near Border in Texas

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents assisted a Texas sheriff’s deputy in disrupting a human smuggling attempt near the U.S.-Mexico Border. A traffic stop led to the arrest of a U.S. citizen juvenile for suspicion of human smuggling.

A Jim Hogg County Sheriff’s Office deputy contacted Hebbronville Station Border Patrol agents for assistance in a possible human smuggling attempt. The deputy stopped a vehicle on State Highway 16 north of Hebbronville, Texas, according to Laredo Sector officials.

The deputy contacted Border Patrol for assistance in identifying suspected illegal immigrants in the vehicle. Agents responded and conducted an immigration interview. They identified nine migrants from two countries who were illegally present in the United States, officials stated.

The agents took the nine citizens of Honduras and Mexico into custody and transported them to a processing point for medical screening and criminal background investigation. They placed the driver, a juvenile U.S. citizen, under arrest. The sheriff’s office seized the vehicle utilized in the alleged human smuggling attempt.

Under Title 42 Coronavirus protection protocols put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 90 percent of all apprehended illegal immigrants are expelled to Mexico within two hours of their arrest, CBP officials previously told Breitbart Texas.

“Strong cooperation between multiple law enforcement agencies in our communities and the U.S. Border Patrol leads to the interdiction of criminal activity and successful prosecution of violators of the law,” Laredo Sector officials said in a written statement. “Agents of the Laredo Sector will continue to form resilient partnerships with their law enforcement counterparts to keep our Nation and communities safe as they focus on the agency’s strategic objectives to stem the flow of illegal immigration and stop the spread of COVID-19. ”