U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they discovered 74 illegal immigrants packed into trailers in Texas being smuggled into the U.S. on Monday, according to a press release Thursday.
Big Bend Sector officials said a K-9 unit alerted them to do a traffic check on a travel trailer at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, about 20 miles northeast of the Mexico border.
The agents and Texas Department of Public Safety saved multiple migrants from “a very dangerous situation,” Big Bend Sector Chief Patrol Agent Sean McGoffin said in a statement. McGoffin said that criminal organizations use American citizens in their smuggling schemes, putting them in danger.
United States Border Patrol agents and @TXDPS encountered two vehicles pulling travel trailers attempting to smuggle 74 undocumented non-citizens. Two United States Citizens are being prosecuted for their role in the smuggling scheme. https://t.co/TK3V4pIxt8 pic.twitter.com/Nsb6AHAuWo
— Chief Patrol Agent Sean L. McGoffin (@USBPChiefBBT) July 15, 2021
A second truck with a trailer drove by as border patrol agents were doing the traffic check, which alerted the officials of a potential smuggling scheme, officials said. Texas Department of Public Safety officers received the alert and stopped the second vehicle and apprehended a total of 74 illegal immigrants and three U.S. citizens hiding inside.
The illegal immigrants are in custody and hail from countries like Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru. (RELATED: Kamala’s Inaction As BORDER CZAR Continues As Americans Disapprove Of Biden’s Crisis Policies)
Two of the Americans were sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety, officials say. The third citizen, the second truck driver, was released due to his young age.
Imagine being locked in a metal toolbox, on a hot Laredo day. These images reveal how undocumented individuals are packed in compartments not meant to hold people and are tragic indications of the careless criminal organizations.
#BorderSecurityAwarenessShare! Share! Share! pic.twitter.com/ifvbex5LXz
— Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak (@USBPChiefLRT) July 14, 2021
Border officials were reportedly warned Friday to prepare for the processing of more than 1,000 migrant families each day as Democratic President Joe Biden’s plans to terminate Title 42 by the end of July. Former President Donald Trump implemented the policy in May 2020 to remove migrants from the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
Border officials have currently removed 647,919 people in 2021 through Title 42, statistics show.
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