Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector continue to lead the nation in the apprehension of migrants illegally crossing from Mexico. Under Title 42 Coronavirus protection protocols put in place by the CDC, nearly all are expelled to Mexico within a few hours of arrest.
In July, Rio Grande Valley Sector agents apprehended 7,536 of the 38,347 migrants arrested after illegally crossing the border, according to information obtained from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The Tucson Sector came in second in July with 5,590.
Of the 7,536 migrants apprehended at the southeastern end of the U.S.-Mexico Border, single adults, mostly from Mexico, accounted for 6,307. The remainder were Unaccompanied Alien Children (692) and Family Unit Aliens (537).
The RGV Sector led the nation in each of these demographic categories.
Apprehensions continue in the sector as agents assigned to the Falfurrias Interior Immigration Checkpoint on August 11 foiled a human smuggling plot where 10 migrants were packed into the sleeper area of a tractor-trailer rig.
The following day, McAllen Station agents observed multiple migrants running away from the Rio Grande levee area heading for Military Highway. A CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter aircrew provided overhead cover and observed a Ford F-150 fleeing the area at a high rate of speed, according to information obtained from RGV Sector officials.
Officers with the Palmview Police Department received information about the truck and attempted to interdict. The driver attempted to return to the river levee but stopped due to the mud in the area. The driver and two passengers bailed out and fled to the river. Agents checked the truck and found 10 illegal immigrants inside and another hiding nearby, officials stated.
On August 13, agents patrolling near McCook, Texas, saw a suspicious white Chevrolet pickup truck in a known smuggling area. As the agent approached the vehicle, the driver took off and crashed through several gates onto a private ranch. Agents followed the path of the truck and found it abandoned and crashed. An AMO helicopter provided air cover and helped locate ten illegal immigrants hiding in the brush in various locations, officials report.
“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,” RGV Sector officials said in a written statement. “The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.”
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.