Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended 12 migrants and seized a small quantity of Xanax at an immigration checkpoint located about 80 miles north of the Texas/Mexico border. The arrests came in two separate incidents last Thursday.
Agents assigned to the Falfurrias Immigration Checkpoint in Brooks County, Texas, observed a Dodge Journey approaching for inspection on Thursday morning. During an initial immigration interview, a K-9 alerted to an odor it is trained to detect. The agents referred the driver to the secondary inspection area.
The agents interviewed the two female passengers and identified them as being from El Salvador and Guatemala. Both were illegally present in the United Stations, Rio Grande Valley Sector officials reported. A check on the driver uncovered an active warrant for dangerous drugs. The agents place the man and the two illegal immigrant females in custody.
A search of the SUV uncovered a small quantity of Xanax pills. The agents seized the illicit drugs and the Dodge Journey.
Several hours later, agents observed a tractor-trailer rig approaching for inspection. The agents referred the driver of the rig to a secondary inspection station for a search after a K-9 alerted to an odor it is trained to detect in the cargo area, officials stated.
A search of the trailer led to the discovery of 10 migrants, officials explained. The agents identified the migrants as having traveled to the U.S. from Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. The agents placed all 10 and the driver into custody.
Under Title 42 Coronavirus protection protocols put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 12 migrants will be medically screened and check for criminal history before being returned to Mexico.
“Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation,” Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials concluded in the statement.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.