Border Patrol agents assigned to the Falfurrias Checkpoint found 27 migrants locked in the back of two commercial rental trucks in separate incidents this week. The smuggled include at least one unaccompanied minor.
Rio Grande Valley Sector agents assigned to the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint on Sunday observed a rental box truck approaching for an immigration inspection. During the initial interview, a K-9 agent alerted to the possible presence of drug or human cargo present. The agents ordered the driver to the secondary inspection station, according to Rio Grande Valley Sector officials.
During a secondary inspection, agents opened the rear door of the truck and found 18 illegal immigrants locked inside the hot truck with no ventilation or means of escape if an accident were to occur. The agents identified the migrants as having come from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The agents transported the 18 illegal immigrants to the Falfurrias Station for initial intake processing and a biometric background investigation. During the records check, agents identified one of the migrants as a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor.
A similar incident occurred the following day when agents again observed a rental box truck approaching the immigration checkpoint. A K-9 agent again alerted to the possible presence of drugs or humans in the rental truck’s cargo area. The agents referred the driver to a secondary inspection station for further investigation.
The agents carried out a search and found nine more migrants locked in the rear. An investigation revealed the human cargo came to the U.S. from Honduras and Mexico, officials stated.
Agents arrested the migrants and turned both cases over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations for possible prosecution for immigration violations and human smuggling.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.