Mexican Teen Illegally in U.S. Leads Texas Troopers on Pursuit in Alleged Migrant Smuggling Incident

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested a Mexican teenager who was allegedly smuggling a group of migrants near Laredo. The teen led the troopers on a chase that ended after he hit a curb and lost a front tire.

Texas DPS spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez posted a video on social media showing a driver running a red light and failing to stop for a trooper on July 30. The trooper engaged the white GMC Acadia in a high-speed pursuit and eventually executed a pit maneuver, which forced the driver off the roadway.

The driver stopped in the brush, and the vehicle caught fire. Troopers pulled seven migrants from the Acadia.

The troopers arrested the driver, a 14-year-old Mexican national illegally present in the United States, Olivarez reported. The driver faces felony charges for evading arrest and smuggling of persons.

A few days earlier, DPS troopers arrested another teenage alleged human smuggler. The driver, a Laredo resident, led the troopers on a high-speed, wreckless pursuit where he can be seen disregarding multiple traffic lights. He repeatedly cut in and out of traffic as he attempted to flee.

The teen driver eventually crashed into another vehicle as he ran another red traffic light, Olivarez stated. The troopers arrested the Laredo resident and his 14-year-old female passenger, also from Laredo. They both face charges of smuggling of persons. The driver is also charged with felony evading.

Two migrants bailed out of the vehicle during the pursuit and were not apprehended, the report states.

Despite the recent downturn in migrant crossings, troopers continue to find smugglers attempting to move migrant got-aways from the border region into the U.S. interior. The troopers are assigned to the border region under Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.