Big Bend Sector Border Patrol agents working an immigration checkpoint near Sierra Blanca, Texas, found a group of 31 migrants hiding in a tractor-trailer loaded with crushed aluminum cans.
U.S. Border Patrol officials closed all highway immigration checkpoints operating in the Laredo Sector on Friday evening in response to the Haitian migrant crisis unfolding in Del Rio, Texas, according to a source within Customs and Border Protection. The Laredo Sector operates six permanent checkpoints including one of the busiest checkpoints in the nation located on the I-35 Interstate corridor between Laredo and San Antonio.
Four San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents sustained injuries during a vehicle pursuit of a human smuggling suspect. The alleged smuggler, his passenger, and one of the smuggled migrants also sustained injuries.
Border Patrol agents and Texas firefighters teamed up to rescue a migrant woman found deep in a dry well on a ranch near the border with Mexico. It appears the woman ended up in the well while attempting to circumvent an interior immigration checkpoint near Hebbronville.
Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested an armed 25-year-old human smuggler after finding two migrants locked inside the trunk of a sedan at an interior checkpoint in Southern California.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents seized more than 92 pounds of cocaine at an interior immigration checkpoint. Officials estimated the drugs to be worth nearly $3 million.
Border Patrol officials in the Tucson Sector say cartel-connected human smugglers are not deterred by the Coronavirus pandemic as they continue to push migrants into the United States. Over the Easter weekend, agents in the sector disrupted two smuggling attempts.
Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents stopped an armed man from smuggling a small quantity of drugs and cash through an interior immigration checkpoint. The agents also seized two firearms in the incident.
Border Patrol agents assigned to interior immigration checkpoints in California and Arizona stopped two loads of methamphetamine from making their way to cities across the country.
A pair of U.S. citizen human smugglers led San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents on high-speed pursuits in separate incidents. The pursuits led to their arrests and those of 15 migrants.
Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents discovered a large group of migrants locked in the cargo area of a tractor-trailer during an inspection at an immigration checkpoint. Agents said the migrants’ shirts were marked in a fashion similar to “cargo and commodities.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and Border Patrol agents seized 169 pounds of methamphetamine, 90 pounds of heroin, 11 pounds of fentanyl, and 29 pounds of cocaine during the past week at five separate vehicle inspection checkpoints in California and Arizona.
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents rescued nine migrants from a stash house after stopping an attempt to move a separate group through an inland immigration checkpoint. During the raid, agents also seized a sawed-off shotgun and a package of methamphetamine.
United States Border Patrol agents carried out two separate arrests this week involving drug smugglers transporting large quantities of methamphetamine while utilizing children as a diversionary tactic. The two busts resulted in a total seizure of 225 pounds of methamphetamine valued at approximately $541,694.
Border Patrol agents hit a five-year high in the amount of cocaine and methamphetamine seized. The records come despite agents facing inundating numbers of Central American migrants at historic rates.
Increased immigration and security efforts by the Mexican government resulted in a decrease in illegal crossings in the United States, allowing El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents to return to capturing smugglers and previously deported criminal aliens.
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents arrested 14 human smugglers and 26 migrants at interior immigration checkpoints and on roving patrols near the Texas border with Mexico.
Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended 24 migrants and a wanted felon at and around a New Hampshire immigration checkpoint. The arrested migrants came to the U.S. from seven different countries. Seven of the migrants had been previously deported.
Border Patrol agents in the Yuma and El Paso Sectors seized methamphetamine and cocaine at interior immigration checkpoints recently re-opened after the downturn in illegal border crossings. Officials closed checkpoints in these sectors and others earlier this year to redirect resources to the border.
El Paso Sector Border Patrol officials re-opened all six of its inland security checkpoints following a decrease in illegal crossings and more Congressional funding. The checkpoints provide a substantial backstop to reduce human smuggling and the flow of drugs further into the continental U.S.
Border Patrol officials are re-opening many of the inland border security checkpoints following decreases in migrant crossings in June and July. The reductions also allow Border Patrol agents to return to other security missions.
Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to an inland immigration checkpoint uncovered a load of drug and human cargo about 50 miles from the Texas-Mexico border.
U.S. Border Patrol agents seized 41 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1.3 million during a checkpoint vehicle inspection this past Wednesday. The inspection led to the arrest of a Mexican national on charges related to drug smuggling.
