AUSTIN, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott asked the Legislature to increase penalties for those convicted of human smuggling incidents. The state has seen a spike in attempts as criminal organizations expand their use of social media to recruit smugglers, Abbott told Breitbart Texas.
AUSTIN, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott asked the Legislature to pass new laws to ease the process of seizing human smuggling stash houses and vehicles. The request comes as Border Patrol agents, State Troopers, and local law enforcement disrupt stash house operations in the Texas-based border sectors.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a pair of armed human smugglers during the past week near the border in Arizona. The alleged smugglers had pistols and a shotgun in their possession. Agents also found two fugitives in possession of a firearm.
Police in Texas say a Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agent shot a woman near the state’s border with Mexico. The shooting of the suspected human smuggler happened after the woman allegedly attempted to strike the agent with her vehicle.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has issued a set of proposals to crack down on illegal immigration across the state of Florida, blasting President Joe Biden for “reckless … open border policies.”
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents rescued migrants left trapped in crashed human smugglers’ vehicles in two separate incidents this week. In one incident, migrants had to be transported to hospitals for treatment.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper shot a suspected car thief after the driver allegedly led police on a lengthy high-speed pursuit. Police say the driver may have been looking to pick up migrants in a human smuggling attempt.
A 15-year-old Mexican national is under arrest for human smuggling and evading arrest following a high-speed pursuit, according to Texas Department of Public Safety officials. The smuggler allegedly drove with seven migrants who were also apprehended.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended dozens of camouflage-wearing migrants attempting to sneak into the U.S. interior after crossing the border from Mexico. The arrests took place in multiple human smuggling incidents interdicted by agents near the border in Arizona.
A Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agent reportedly shot at a suspected human smuggler after the suspect allegedly attempted to strike the agent with the vehicle. The incident took place along the Texas border with Mexico near Eagle Pass.
Border Patrol agents assigned to the five Texas-based border sectors apprehended nearly 485,000 migrants who crossed the border from Mexico into this border region since October 1, 2022. This represents nearly 64 percent of all migrant crossings along the southwest border with Mexico.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested two alleged human smugglers after they reportedly hid six migrants in a pickup truck. The migrants included a small child.
A Florida man is now accused of human smuggling after leading Texas cops on a wild high-speed pursuit near the southern border with Mexico on February 7. The driver drove off the road and into oncoming traffic while racing at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of migrants attempting to sneak into Texas via dangerous storm drain tunnels.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested two people for allegedly smuggling migrants in Edwards County. The four migrants included an infant.
Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents continue to see a spike in border crossings despite temperatures falling to minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit during the past week. Recently, agents apprehended 105 migrants from eight different nations during a week-long stretch.
Migrant got-aways along the southwest border with Mexico dropped significantly in January, according to a source within U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Border Patrol officials estimate the number of got-aways fell to 48,000 during the fourth month of the fiscal year.
A 15-year-old from San Antonio is charged with human smuggling after leading Texas Highway Patrol troopers on a high-speed pursuit in Frio County. The pursuit ended when the teen lost control on the wet roadway and drove up a highway overpass berm causing the pickup truck to roll over. The teen and his 12-year-old accomplice were taken into custody at the scene.
The border crisis expanded to Florida in recent months as officials in the Miami Sector report a massive increase in migrant landings. During the first four months of FY23, Miami Sector agents encountered more migrants than for the entire FY22.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers rescued a two-year-old migrant child following a high-speed pursuit near the border. The trooper arrested the driver and turned the migrants over to Border Patrol for processing.
U.S. Coast Guardsmen rescued nearly 300 migrants attempting to flee Haiti on a sailing vessel. Photos show the migrants packed on the deck of the overloaded boat.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper arrested a Venezuelan migrant for allegedly smuggling a group of 28 migrants, including a juvenile into the interior of Texas. Dashcam video provided by DPS shows a high-speed pursuit in the overloaded van where the Venezuelan man attempted to avoid apprehension.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers charged a Houston man with human smuggling following a high-speed pursuit in Uvalde County. Police later confirmed the man to be a member of the Pyro Bloods gang.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested two alleged human smugglers in possession of handguns near the Arizona border with Mexico.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested three human smugglers after finding a group of migrants in a towed boat. This incident took place at an interior immigration checkpoint near the border in Arizona.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper arrested two teenagers on charges related to human smuggling. The arrests took place in Val Verde County, Texas, following a dangerous high-speed pursuit.
U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued a group of 45 migrants packed onto an overloaded sailboat. Photos and video show smugglers loaded the migrants onto the boat without life jackets.
El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents operating in Texas and New Mexico interdicted nearly 50 human smuggling incidents in the last week. The interdictions led to the apprehension of nearly 300 migrants.
An alleged human smuggler led Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on a high-speed pursuit near Mission on Wednesday. At the end of the pursuit, troopers and Border Patrol agents arrested the alleged human smuggler and 14 migrants.
Tucson Sector agents arrested an armed human smuggler and interdicted groups of migrants crossing the border from Mexico.
In response to the escalating migrant surge on the Florida coast, Governor Ron DeSantis ordered the deployment of the state’s National Guard. The governor ordered the mobilization of soldiers, airmen, equipment, and aircraft to assist federal agencies.
Homeland Security Task Force-Southeast law enforcement partners interdicted multiple sea-based human smuggling incidents leading to the capture of more than nearly 1,400 migrants over the New Year’s Weekend. The migrant arrests took place at sea and along the coast in the Florida Keys.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a Mexican national after finding him with five smuggled migrants on December 27. The incident began as Nogales police officers initiated a traffic stop on the suspected human smuggler’s SUV and called Border Patrol for assistance.
U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 220,000 migrants who crossed the southwest border in December. The number of apprehended migrants sets a record for December and is the second-largest month since the Clinton administration. This brings the total apprehensions for the first quarter of FY23 to more than 631,000.
Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents experienced an increase in migrant apprehensions of nearly 800 percent during the first two months of the new fiscal year. During the last four months, the agents in this Canadian border sector apprehended more migrants than were apprehended in the entire FY22.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper arrested an alleged human smuggler after finding 18 migrants locked inside a dump trailer in Kenedy County. The migrants in the tarp-covered trailer included a young child. Temperatures fell that morning to the low 20s.
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 1,100 migrants during a five-hour period Tuesday morning. The apprehensions took place in a small section of the border south of Eagle Pass. Agents apprehended more than 400 in a single group.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper heard gunfire after a foot pursuit of migrants and a human smuggler onto a ranch near the border. The gunfire was heard after a high-speed chase on Christmas Eve.
A Mexican national living in New York pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to transport a group of Mexican migrants who had just crossed the border from Canada into Vermont. Border Patrol agents found the man in an area near the border where six Mexican nationals had just been apprehended.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested an armed human smuggler near the Arizona border with Mexico. Agents found five Mexican migrants and a loaded handgun inside the smuggler’s vehicle.
