MISSION, Texas–Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers and Texas Rangers are present throughout the Rio Grande Valley Sector of the Texas-Mexico Border. Breitbart Texas observed scores of patrol cars on the highways and roadways in Hidalgo County. We also witnessed were river boats with Texas Rangers on ATV vehicles patrolling the river border.
In an interview with Breitbart Texas, a trooper speaking on condition of anonymity said, “We have Troopers from all over the state coming down to the border to help out where we can.” One Trooper this writer met was from one of the other Texas river borders, the Red River border between Texas and Oklahoma, nearly 600 miles away. The Troopers will work twelve hour shifts for an unannounced duration and then return home to their normal duty stations.
One local resident told Breitbart Texas, “You can’t throw a rock around here without hitting a trooper or a Border Patrol agent.”
Breitbart Texas spent Sunday, July 6, with deputies from the Hidalgo County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office in Anzalduas Park, one of the hotspots of illegal immigrant entry into this region. The park is located just west of the Anzalduas International Bridge. This region is where Breitbart Texas witnessed the capture of nearly 100 illegal immigrants on three separate visits.
Deputy Richard Flores told Breitbart Texas, “The flow of illegal immigrants has reduced dramatically since the DPS surge began. If you had been here three weeks ago, you would have seen wave after wave of immigrants coming through.”
The DPS Troopers are here to fill in the gap left by Border Patrol having to deal with all of the unaccompanied minors who have been flooding into what has become known as the Texas border crisis region. Their objective, according to one of the Troopers, is to look for drug traffickers and human smugglers. “We are not here to enforce immigration law,” the Trooper said.
He told Breitbart Texas about a drug interdiction that occurred on July 5th at about 6 p.m. where Troopers became involved in a high-speed chase that resulted in a crash that killed two people.
The Troopers began to chase a red Pontiac in Los Ebanos when the driver fled according to a report in The Monitor. During the chase, the Pontiac collided with a GMC vehicle as it entered the highway from Coyote drive. The driver of the Pontiac and his passenger were killed. The driver of the other vehicle and his four passengers were transported to area hospitals.
The DPS Trooper told Breitbart Texas the fleeing vehicle was carrying drugs. The Monitor confirmed the Pontiac had bundles of marijuana in the trunk.
Troopers from other parts of the state are also helping on the DPS river gunboats. Breitbart Texas spoke with Troopers from Port Lavaca and Rockport, locations of the Texas DPS’s other gunboats.
Despite the efforts of the river patrols, fourteen illegal immigrants still made it to U.S. soil in the park area being patrolled and were captured by border patrol and deputies from the Hidalgo County Precinct 3 Constable’s Department.
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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