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.
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.
Local officials celebrated the arrival of a contingent of more than 100 Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol troopers at a luncheon held for law enforcement officers and first responders on Friday. Constable Rene Maldonado requested Texas Governor Greg Abbot deploy the contingent of troopers to the area. According to the Constable, the arrival of the troopers significantly reduced the migrant smuggling activity on Interstate 35 and local highways.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers assigned to Operation Lone Star are making headway in reducing the number of migrant got-aways making their way into the U.S. interior. Troopers track down migrants making their way through ranches located as far as 80-100 miles away from the Mexican border in addition to those being smuggled in vehicles, rail cars, and tractor-trailers.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers working brush operations in rural Kinney County utilized technology to track down a group of migrants illegally trespassing on a ranch. Near Laredo, troopers found another group using their own technology to try to avoid apprehension.
Texas Department of Public Safety Special Agents found a group of 50 migrants locked inside a Conex container in a Laredo junkyard. The search came after the agents apprehended five other migrants being smuggled in a stolen tractor-trailer.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers interdicted multiple human smuggling operations, leading to the arrests of smugglers and migrants. In one incident, troopers found a deported Honduran man in possession of a .45 caliber handgun and fake driver’s licenses.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered state police and military forces to use “every available strategy” to repel migrants illegally crossing the border. The governor also ordered protection from “an invasion of the southern border.”
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper discovered ten migrants hiding in a work truck during a traffic stop near the border. The alleged human smuggler told troopers he was paid $500 per migrant to hide them in his truck.
A group of eight migrants bailed out of a pickup truck following a traffic stop near the border in Zavala County, Texas. A Department of Public Safety trooper arrested the female driver and turned two apprehended migrants over to Border Patrol agents.
Texas DPS troopers and Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley arrested two human smugglers following a pursuit that ended in a crash. Police found a loaded handgun on one of the teens.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers busted three out-of-state human smugglers over the weekend near Bracketville. One alleged smuggler admitted to being paid $2,000 per migrant to drive from Eagle Pass to Del Rio.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers teamed up with Border Patrol agents to interdict drug and human smuggling incidents near the Rio Grande border with Mexico. Agents also apprehended two large migrant groups who crossed near Rio Grande City, Texas.
Texas police and National Guard soldiers find a group of 13 migrants in the brush along the bank of the Rio Grande border with Mexico. The Department of Public Safety troopers and National Guardsmen routinely patrol these areas under Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.
If he survives, a Mexican national involved in a human smuggling attempt will face murder charges following a fatal crash that left a Guatemalan dead on Wednesday, Texas Department of Public Safety officials stated. The Mexican man, illegally present in the U.S., is himself in critical condition following a police pursuit that ended in a rollover.
At least one migrant is dead following a rollover crash in South Texas where a smuggler attempted to flee and avoid arrest. The driver and 11 migrants were all ejected from a pickup truck.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested an alleged human smuggler after finding 84 migrants hiding in the cargo area of a dump truck as part of Operation Lone Star activities Tuesday.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper working in Laredo, Texas, observed a group of people suspected to be in the U.S. illegally get into the back of a commercial tractor-trailer. The trooper, working under Operation Lone Star stopped the truck for an inspection and found 11 people.
A human smuggler led Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on a high-speed pursuit and crashed after losing control in a curving turn. The vehicle rolled upside-down in the river and resulted in the death of one migrant.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials report an increasing number of cases where human smugglers use migrants to drive their transport vehicles. The move is seen as an increased danger to those being smuggled and innocent drivers on Texas highways.
Texas Department of Public Safety brush teams working ranches near the border apprehended 83 migrants in the Del Rio border sector. Texas troopers and National Guard soldiers routinely patrol the ranches near the border under Operation Lone Star.
A human smuggler attempting to avoid arrest fled from police and rolled an overloaded pickup truck killing two migrants and injuring 12 others. The crash took place in Brooks County, Texas, approximately 80 miles inland from the Texas-Mexico border.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers utilize drone technology to help apprehend migrants trespassing on ranches near the border. Even when the migrants run under cover of darkness, the drones are able to track their movements and lead troopers to their location.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers are encountering more dangerous human smuggling incidents, many including high-speed pursuits. DPS officials released videos recently showing the dangers these smugglers put their “cargo” in as well as the general public on the roadways.
A police pursuit near Uvalde, Texas, led to the arrest of a suspected human smuggler and the apprehension of 13 migrants from Mexico. The fleeing smuggler endangered the migrants and other drivers on the highway by recklessly driving at high speeds in an attempt to avoid arrest.
A Texas DPS trooper spotted a suspected human smuggling vehicle near the border close to Del Rio. The ensuing traffic stop led to the discovery of seven migrants in the back of the vehicle and a dubious denial from the driver.
A group of men from Mexico who tried to trek through rough Texas mountains with bundles of drugs are facing lengthy prison sentences after receiving a conviction on federal drug trafficking charges.
A Texas Department of Public Safety drone operator located a group of 37 migrants riding in an open-top rail car in Maverick County. The group included 36 adults and one minor.
A previously deported felon from Mexico is under arrest in South Texas after he allegedly attempted to wrestle a National Guard soldier’s rifle away. The soldier managed to maintain custody of the rifle.
Texas DPS and federal special agents stopped another human smuggling incident utilizing aircraft to move migrants into the U.S. interior. This incident included the arrest of a previously deported fugitive wanted in Wisconsin for the Sexual Assault of a Child.
State and federal law enforcement agencies teamed up to arrest an alleged human smuggler in West Texas who reportedly held a migrant toddler for ransom. The arrest followed a traffic stop by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper working under Operation Lone Star.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials interdicted an aviation-based human smuggling attempt at an airport in the border city of McAllen. The DPS special agent found 19 migrants onboard after his pilot ordered air traffic controllers to ground the aircraft.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated specific Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations and ordered the Department of Public Safety to begin dismantling their infrastructure. The move comes as record levels of the deadly drug fentanyl are being pushed across the border.
A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) pilot, normally assigned to aerial patrols on the southwest border, observed a human smuggling event unfold at the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg (EBG). On Wednesday, the pilot conducted a ramp check on a Gulf Stream IV, ending the unsuccessful smuggling venture.
Uvalde school district officials received notice of claim from a California law firm planning to file a $27 billion class action lawsuit. The notice alleges failures on the part of the school district and law enforcement that contributed to the physical and psychological injuries sustained in the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School.
A woman in Friona, Texas, faces federal charges for her role in a human smuggling stash house that held 17 migrants hostage. The migrants were forced to remain in the Texas Panhandle home until their debts to human smugglers were paid in full.
A 72-year-old El Paso man who has a prosthetic leg will spend 15 years in prison for his role in trying to rob a bank at gunpoint.
A migrant jumped out of a human smuggler’s vehicle and ran into passing traffic on a highway in South Texas. A passing motorist struck the migrant, killing him instantly.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Department of Public Safety to begin inspections of commercial trucks to prevent their utilization as human smuggling vehicles. The move follows the deaths of 53 migrants this week who were locked inside a tractor-trailer rig in San Antonio.
Two people are dead following a police pursuit that is reportedly connected to a failed human smuggling attempt. One reportedly died at the scene while the second died in a hospital.
