Fleeing Human Smuggler Drags Migrant from Vehicle near Border in Texas

A human smuggler attempting to avoid arrest dragged a Salvadoran migrant as Border Patrol agents attempted a traffic stop. The driver and other migrants fled successfully into the brush as the agents attended to the injured migrant.

Rio Grande City Station Border Patrol agents came upon a group of migrants attempting to get into a Ford F150 pickup truck on November 30 near Roma, Texas. As an agent approached the vehicle the human smuggler began to drive away, according to information obtained from Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials.

As the truck attempted to drive away, a Salvadoran migrant attempted to enter the vehicle. The migrant fell and was dragged from the fleeing vehicle, officials. Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Brian Hastings tweeted an image of the injured migrant and the suspected smuggling vehicle.

The driver and other migrants fled into the brush while the agent attended to the injured migrant. The agent summoned an ambulance to transport the Salvadoran man to the hospital.

Another agent responding to the scene found another Salvadoran migrant in the rear seat of the truck. A search of the area was unsuccessful in finding the human smuggler and the other migrants.

On the same day, McAllen Station Border Patrol agents interdicted another human smuggling attempt near Hidalgo, Texas. The agents came upon a red SUV parked alongside Military Highway, a known human smuggling pickup area. The agent did a U-turn and investigated the parked vehicle and identified the driver as a Mexican national illegally present in the United States. The agents arrested the migrant and seized the SUV, officials stated.

One day earlier, McAllen Station agents found two more Mexican nationals driving suspected smuggling vehicles in the exact same area, officials reported. The agents observed several migrants coming out of the brush and approaching the vehicles. When the agents activated their emergency lights, the migrants fled back into the brush. The agents arrested the drivers of the two suspected load vehicles — both Mexican nationals illegally present in the U.S.